DC Trek
by Lynthrocropia
Summary: The USS Titan has come a great distance through an unexplained gravity disturbance. Now, they find themselves establishing first contact with the DC Universe
1. Chapter 1

Gotham City.

There was a cold wind blowing through Gotham city.

This in and of itself was not the least bit weird or considered odd. It was after all, two mere weeks before Thanksgiving.

What was odd was the sound that the wind blowing through the alleyway blocked. The high pitch chime of a transporter was abandoned by the ear of the city, one that had much more interesting things to do then listen to some magical light appearing. Besides, in this town, it usually boaded no well when something like that happened.

Transporters were not unheard of in Gotham. They knew about the technology, borrowed from Martians. They knew that the Justice League had several booths installed throughout the country. They also knew, although officially they didn't, that the Caped Crusader had at least one booth active in the city. Not that the Batman existed. Officially.

-

USS Titan NCC-80102

Gotham City lingered on the view screen, sparkling like a cache of diamonds spread out on black velvet pillow. Its rivers intersected the bunched jewels of light, laying through them like two black ribbon place markers, telling any observer which side of town was the better, and which side was more gritty.

"Well, Christine. Anything that stands out."

"_It appears to be an earth city, early 21__st__ century. We're going to need some replicated local clothing patterns. .. My tricorder is picking up a wireless network of some kind. According to this, it is Earth. This city is known as Gotham_."

"New York ?" the captain asked, trying to remember history centuries old.

"Sir, the sensors are picking up New York, and she's registering. The thing is, this Earth happens to have more metropolises then our history. Perhaps an alternative history ? Something at a different vibration then ours ?" the young cardassian said, perking up from his conn unit.

"Good thinking, Ensign. Christine, get as much data from there as you can, and beam up in 5 minutes. I have a feeling that this city isn't as safe as we would hope. Riker out."

"Captain, we have been detected. There are several radio-wave based censor units training on us from the surface of the planets moon."

"Deflectors on full, Mr. Tuvok. Mr. Pazler, Get us a fix on our coordinates. I want to know exactly where we are, When we are, and how we got here. Assemble senior officers and meet in the ready room at 2200 hours."

-

Gotham City

"Like… action figure. Then disappeared. Twinkle. Music."

"Teleportation ?"

"No booth. Just… twinkle. Twinkle. Then gone."

"Oracle, you hearing this ?"

"_Yeah boss. There's another thing. JLA censors stopped recording a big hunk of space above us. There was a minute gap in the records, and then they returned to where they were. Exactly where they were, except with perfect variations to the wavelength. I'd hate to say it, but we're probably dealing with aliens of some kind of another."_

The Batman paused alone on top of the roof. He didn't like aliens, or super powered beings, or any stranger at all, really. This was his city, and it was also the only one on the East Coast that didn't have a multi-million dollar budget devoted entirely to repair of super-powered damage.

Across the alley way, Cassandra Cain perked up.

"Aliens ? She looked Human. Him too. Though" Cassandra's brow visibly wrinkled through her cowl. "He did have dots." She illustrated the point by running her fingers up her head.

"Aliens…" the Batman growled. "Oracle, get me a contact with Green Lantern."

"Batgirl, join me at the Clocktower." Batman paused, changing his com-channel "Robin, you have the city. When Nightwing returns, he is to take the north, you the south. Batgirl and I will be investigating an unusual incident that has happened in the Upper East End.

~Writer's note:

This story has no official date. This is to avoid the many continuity errors that have and will occur. It's fan fiction, not Paramount or Time-Warner.


	2. Chapter 2

USS Titan NCC-80102

"Gotham City. Founded in the 16th Century by a rogue Norwegian mercenary company. Taken over by the British in the 17th Century. Capital city of the Commonwealth of Gotham, a state analogous to the eastern half of New York as well as the whole of New Jersey in our home universe."

"The other cities, Mr. Tuvok ?"

"New York, which is on the upper boundary of the state we are currently in Orbit above. The other major population center is named Metropolis."

"This planet has named one of its largest metropoli Metropolis ?"

"Yes Captain."

A smile of mirth showed on Riker's face.

"We believe our timeline to be approximate, and this earth is currently in the two thousand and eighth year of the Common Era measurement.

"Mr. Pazlar, do you have any idea how we ended up here, on an alternative Earth, 300 years in the past, no less."

"I have been working with Dr. Ra-Havreii. Our warp-stream was altered by a gravitational field that was suddenly formed, causing us to form a one-time wormhole. We ended up here."

"Any reasoning on why we suddenly had an uncharted gravity well end up next to our warp plotting. I find it hard to believe a natural phenomena would appear in the trade route between Qo'nos and Remus. Commander Ra-Havreii, Tuvok, look back over the logs, and see if you can find any sort of signature for the event."

Riker looked as if he was going to add another comment , but was interrupted by the chime of his com-badge.

"Captain here."

"_Captain, we are being hailed_."

"On my way"

The Captain made his was to the bridge, stopping as soon as he walked through the door. There, on the view screen in front of him, floated two Green Lanterns and another figure, all basking in a green glow.

"_USS Titan, you are in Earth's range. State your intentions_."

"This is Captain William T. Riker of the United Space Federation ship USS Titan. We have experienced a malfunction during a routine journey. We are from an era in the future, and have no intention of interacting with the planet any-more than necessary. We just want to go home."

-

Outer Earth Orbit

John Stewart turned his head to regard Superman and Hal Jordan. "That was in English. My ring tells me he's not lying. We could read his thoughts"

"No. They have intensive armament on that thing and…"

-

USS Titan NCC 80102

"He has impressive mental shields. However, they are just curious. There is no… He detected me in my thoughts. Now he's not so sure that we are ambiguous after all." Diana Troy stopped talking to grasp her temple. " He's also not Homo-Saipan."

"This earth has made first contact with other species already. They have detection technology that could overcome our deflector shielding. I doubt that we would be violating any temporal laws. This may be a different time, but it is also a Different continuim, as well. On Screen."

"Gentlemen, we apologize for our intrusion, not just into your space, but also for your head. My wife is half Betazoid. She compliments your mental strength. Would you accept an invitation for dinner aboard our ship. We would welcome any help in returning to our world."

-

Watchtower, The Moon.

"Yes. Same uniform. Like Action Figure. Had Big Remote." Cassandra said, smiling at her successful first identification of the alien figures.

"Well…" Green Lantern said. "… They've invited us to Dinner"

"Trap" Batman said, automatically.

"Hal says they have a telepath. She tried to read their minds and find out their intent." Kyle said, shuffling his feet nervously, as he always had whenever he talked to the dark knight.

"A telepath."

"Yes. A half Betazoid… whatever that is."

"Your ring can't tell you?"

"No. Not one single Oan has ever heard of them. In fact, the Ring is …confused, by the number of Aliens on board. According to it, Humans only make up 14.3 percent of the ships inhabitants"

"Who are the humans on board then ?"

"We don't know. Anyway, Hal has already accepted the invitation. Superman is going as well. Should I let them know your interested ?"

"No. Someone has to be able to plan your way out of this. Seems like a trap to me. How do we know they aren't inline with the works of Mongol or Darkseid?"

"The Rings…"

"Have been wrong before. What if Sinestro has been manipulating them ?"

"We don't. But we have a ship that hasn't been detected by any sensors long enough to even confirm it's existence outside of physically viewing it, from close up. The ship has weaponry to destroy every single city on the North American continent, but it hasn't. It's captain says they're explorers who got sidetracked on a routine mission and is asking for our help in returning to their time and space."

"It would be better if you stayed here. We may need a Green Lantern in reserve."

"No. I'm going. John is heading back now."

"Fine. I'll stay here. Is the captain human ?"

"Yes. Full blooded"

"Hopefully their future doesn't include alien slave labor. I want a detective with you whenever you go, if at all possible."

A large green humanoid form drifted silently up behind the dark knight. The green man was several inches above the floor. He didn't say anything, merely folded his arms and waited.

"J'onn, would you be interested in the cuisine of this…" Batman paused, looking at the youngest Green Lantern for the words.

"J'onn… you have got to stop doing that! My ring will protect me from mortal danger but heart attacks have to hurt. How did you ?" Kyle gasped, before the words sank into his head. "Oh. Yeah. The United Space Federation"

"I would be most interested. Especially if they have Oreos" The Martian Manhunter said in his usual deep, steady voice. "I will also be happy to make a full report." The man hunter paused again, quirking his head to the side. "I will also provide a mental shield so that Batgirl may be among the members of our dining party. You would prefer a second opinion, wouldn't you? One from your own team." The last sentence was not a question, but a prepared statement.

The Batman looked over at Batgirl, who was suddenly inspecting the steel surface of the cubicle. Batman looked at the monitor above it, where a current picture of the Titan was being displayed by Green Lantern's ring. "Two. Nightwing has had more first contact with aliens than anyone else in my group. He's also had the most training."

"He is also the most likely to be either the first or the last subdued by the crew, should they decide to attack and claim our abilities as their own." J'onn added.

"Cassandra, head to the Clocktower. You don't have a secret identity to maintain, so proper etiquette requires you to wear a dress. Inform Nightwing to brief Stephanie for a standard patrol. Stress that she listen to Tim. Ask Oracle to take you shopping. Also, stop smiling underneath your mask. This is a mission."

-

USS Titan NCC 80102

"He's not any listed species. Not a single one comes close to a match. I've exhausted the databanks. It's possible he may have been genetically engineered."

"What makes you think that, good Doctor?" Captain Riker said, wiping the pale blood off his lips.

Dr. Ree smiled, a grissly sight on a look-a-like of a Raptor, and pulled a tendon loose from the leg in front of him. He carefully bit down on the end of the tendon and scraped off the muscle that clung to its end. He savored the morsels for a few minutes, then slung back his head and swallowed them whole. The first part of the process always reminded Will Riker of eating artichoke.

"If the censors were correct, he was metabolizing the solar radiation the entire time he was in front of the ship. His optic nerves were collecting data beyond any wavelength ever witnessed by a human naturally. His tissue appears to be durable enough to survive vacuum. His muscles were dense enough that theoretically, he could tear through the Hull, had he wanted to.

"Doctor… I do believe your pulling my leg."

"It is my leg. However, feel free to continue dining. For a Betazoid, your wife is remarkably well trained in the proper preparation of Rura Penthe targ."

"She learned it because Worf asked her to. I hope we can make it back home in time to pick up our dear ambassador. Being a Klingon protectorate, Remus cannot apply for full trade rights to the federation without him there. Also, he plays a great game of Poker."

"I am afraid that I still use my sense of smell to cheat at Poker"

"Nonsense. The Vulcans learned to control their pheromone production. All species are created equal. Just because you can smell when someone has a bad hand or is excited-"

"_Captain, we have received a hail from the Green Lantern_." Christine's voice came out from Riker's chest.

"Patch it through to my personal quarters." Riker waited, turning on his desktop monitor and twisting it so that the Pahkwa-thanh could see it.

"This is Captain Riker."

"_Sir! Are you alright_ ?"

"Why do you ask. Who are you. The Green Lantern we talked to earlier was much older."

"_Oh. That was Hal. I'm Kyle. You seem fine, but… Your covered in blood. With a Dinosaur. A predatory dinosaur. At least, I think he's a dinosaur…"_

Grinning, Riker grabbed a napkin and wiped his mouth. "Well, Mr. Kyle, allow me to introduce Dr. Ree. He's ships doctor. We were splitting a leg of Targ for lunch."

"I actually get that more often then I would expect. I'm a Pahkwa-thanh, Kyle. Apparently I do look like a velociraptor."

_"Straight out of Jurassic Park. Wally is never going to believe this..."_

"Mr. Kyle."

"_It's just Kyle. My first name. Not my last. Mr. Rayner if you insist, Captain_."

"Very well… call me Will. Kyle, do you have a point ?"

"_How many guest would you be comfortable with, Captain_."

" No need to work up the crew with a lot of you around. Something cozy, a nice small number"

"_Three _?"

"More than Three. Six to Eight."

"_eight... That means J'onn, Cassandra, Hal, Nightwing, Superman. Dianna and John. Oh, me too, should I bring wine _?"

"Consumption of Ethanol based beverages is prohibited by officers on duty. Perhaps a small bottle. Do you have any Château du Picard ? A wonderful Pinot Noir maybe. Are there vegetarians among your group. My ship's galley can accommodate any palate in the Galaxy."

"_J'onn is. I think. He likes Oreos as well_." The captain paused as he stared at the screen in front of him. Slowly he searched his memory and recognized the taste of the cookies that his grandmother had saved for him.

"I'm glad to see that our universe has something in common besides just language. I'll make sure we have an adequate supply."

"_Oh, and Cheese_."

"Cheese, Kyle?"

"_Cassandra is the youngest member of our group. She also deeply loves Cheese_."

"We have… We will be sure to start the meal with a fine spread. We'll be ready to beam you up as soon as you provide the co-ordinates."

"I look forward to the meeting of our two cultures. It will be a pleasure to dine with you." Dr. Ree added.

"_Well… We.. We will contact you as soon as our party is assembled. 7:30 our time_."

"We will be waiting. Riker out" the captain said, turning off the screen by hand. "So, Doctor. Just how many Green Lanterns do you suppose this planet has, anyway ?"

"Could be 3. Could be three thousand."

"Could be.. . I hope they like Efrosian white cheddar." Riker sighed, hitting his com-badge. "Riker to Galley."

"_Yes sir_."

"Access Computer records. Earth, 19th century. A company called Nabisco. Product is a chocolate cookie and cream sandwich."

"_The famous Oreo, Captain_."

"Yes. Replicate 3500, if you please."

"_Aye Captain. Any other orders_."

"I'll have the complete menu delivered to you in short order. Riker out" the captain finished, sighed again, and took the long strand of meat from the Doctor.

"Wonder who these people are…"

"You mean, who's really coming to Dinner ?" Dr. Rees said, smiling with strips of flesh dangling from his teeth.


	3. Chapter 3

DC trek 3

-

Gotham county. Arkham Asylum.

"Meet George Jetson." The whimsical song had never sounded so morbid or edged before. The Janitor scurried on, wishing once again that they hadn't required him to remove his I-pod for this wing.

Yes, he knew he had to be observant, to listen for the sound of one of the doors opening, or the shuffle of paper shoes heading up behind him. Still, if he was as doomed as any other poor bastard who had died while cleaning this wing, then he'd want to go out to it listening to his music.

"His Boy, Elroy!"

Why the creep had bothered with this song was beyond the janitor. It made him think of watching the show at night, his dad drinking a bottle of Rum and throwing popcorn at the TV.

"Yeah, lookit that Charlie! That's the Future. When you grow up your gonna send your boy to school in a Bubble!" That made the janitor smile for a moment, till he thought about when the show had come back on, when he was actually old enough to get it. Which of course he was too old to get.

"Daughter Judy" the voice started snickering at this. The snicker turned into a small chuckle.

"and his lovelly lovely late wife Jane!" The Joker finally said, exploding with laughter.

The Janitor resisted the urge to ask the Joker about his variation. The last person to question the Joker had choked on his own teeth.

"Well… Charlie my boy. Why don't you ask about it ?"

The Janitor paused. Was the Joker really doing this.

"Come on, Charlie. You know you want to."

Shaking his head, the janitor dismissed the psychotic and kept pushing his mop down the concrete Hallway.

"Oh come on, Charlie. Charlie. Charlie."

The janitor closed the secure door behind him and sighed. He wanted some whiskey to chase down the dreams he knew he would be having tonight.

He couldn't stand the Jetsons anymore. Rum, either.

-

USS Titan.

"So your saying, that an entire island is isolated from Society on the principle of a 3,000 year old bedtime story?" Dianna Troi-Riker questioned, again intrigued by the beautiful Amazon warrior princess in front of her.

"The story still has Teeth. We still have the powers of the Gods. So yes." Wonder Woman finished. Her statement didn't need to be mind probed for Dianna to realize that there were to be no further questions on the manner. The half-Betazoid looked around the long table for a minute and caught herself with surprise.

The Martian Manhunter had reverted to a more relaxed form, closer to his true identity. He sat calmly eating oreos without saying a word. Across the table from him, Tuvok absentmindedly peeled an earth Orange. Every few minutes, his eyebrows would vary their elevation. It took Troi a few moments before she embarrassedly realized that the two telepathic species had taken their conversation to the mental realm.

Further down the table, Jaza Nedem and Dr. Ra-Havreii were talking back and forth with Dr. Henry Irons and Kyle Rayner. The Green Lantern's ring was forming emerald specters of different ships, reminding Dianna of a tabletop holographic projector. A Green holographic projector.

"Krypton. My birth name is Kal El, last son of Krypton. Once one of the great civilized worlds of known intersystem travel. Great research was done there, they were the most skilled researchers in the galaxy. It was their love of research that led to their destruction. They researched the death of their red sun until the end. Me and but a scant few are all that remain."

"I grieve with thee, Kal El of Krypton. Though I must ask. If you are able to withstand the pressures of Hard Vacuum, how is it that not more of the citizens did not escape. Certainly they would have understood, and researched, their own immense strength?" Captain Riker asked, treading carefully. According to sensor readings, this man before him could rend his ship in two with only a subtle effort. It was like working with Data, but to an exponential.

"I believe, that this is a unique mutation of the genetic ladders. Am I correct, Kal is it?" Dr. Ree paused, blinking both sets of his eyelids. When Superman nodded with his consent, the Pawth-Than continued his hypothesis. "You are a living solor battery. You metabolize solar radiation by direct contact with it. This allows your muscles to be so densely aligned that you could withstand a direct blast from a full phaser bank. Its possible your body might even interpret the blast as its own form of Solar Raditation. This is something that you alone have, isn't it."

"It was… It is. I've been cloned. The process was imperfect, however, so Kon El only got half of my powers. More or less. He was killed in battle.

"I… I grieve with Thee. Kal El, son of Krypton."

The moment of silence was broken when Cassandra Cain came bubbling around the long table. She looked at the captain pointedly, then sniffed the air. "Cheese ?"

Taking this moment to be relieved of an entire planets destruction, captain Riker realized it was time to begin the actual meal. Lifting his glass of Château Picard above his head, he gently rang it with his knife. "Ladies and Gentleman. I am Captain William Riker of the United Space Federation Starship USS Titan. Welcome aboard my ship. We may be seated and begin the meal shortly."

-

Watchtower. The Moon.

"So they come out of nowhere, unknown to the Corps, and you people offered to bring them Wine."

"Hey, I'm just a Green Lantern of Earth, buddy. Kyle is the one who is supposed to be the trainer and extreme expectations office."

"How come Kyle responded to Oracle's hail before you did ?"

"I was already scanning the ship, when it came through. He was playing Uno with Wally."

"…Uno. With The Flash."

"Yes, Batman. The most powerfull weapon in the universe and the guy was playing Uno." John Stewart was getting tired of this. Yes, Batman was a powerful stratagem. Yes, they could potentially use him to plan a counter-attack if this Titan spaceship turned out to be an enemy. Yet, couldn't Gotham use him until then ?

Batman tapped the side of his head, just below the pointed ear piece on his cowl.

"_Robin Here"_

"Any other incidents involving aliens?"

"_Not directly. Apparently Star Labs managed to catch that thing on a telescope. Me and Robin just finished convincing him that the League has it handled._"

"John. The Titan, it has a deflector shield that would redirect any reflective light waves that might allow it to be identified from earth ?"

"According to the Ring, it shouldn't be able to be spotted unless your within 500 Meters of the thing."

"Robin. Did they produce a photograph of the ship?"

"_Spoiler here. I'm uploading the images we confiscated to Oracle's Network."_

Batman stepped over to an unmanned observation cubicle and loaded up the images.

"John."

Earth's Green Lantern stepped over to view the photograph.

"Stewart to Jordan. Have the captain of that ship scan our atmosphere. Something else is up there."

-

USS Titan. NCC 80102

"That… is a Kahless class D-7 Bird of Prey. I'm surprised that it's cloaking device is still operational."

"It doesn't appear to be damaged. Looks pretty state of the art to me." John Irons peered from around the shoulder of Captain William Riker. The two men stood at the tactical station behind the Conn. Christine Vale stood next to the Conn, having stood up automatically when her captain came on deck.

"Censor readings show that the ship is indeed in perfect working order. There's one thing about it, through. The cloak might be throwing off the sensors, but that thing is apparently only 4 years old."

"Commander, are you telling me that a D7 has been built in the past five years by the Klingon Empire ? That would be like building new Constitution class ships."

"Captain, respectively speaking… What ?" Kyle Rayner asked, befuddled by the confusion expressed by the starship's crew.

"Tuvok, please explain to our guests."

"The D-7 battle cruiser, Bird of Prey as the Klingon's call it, is a ship class that was abandoned by the Klingon Defense Force approximately 86.5 earth years before the construction of the Luna Class. Its primary correlation to a federation vessel would be the Constitution. That vessel was the first developed ship of the United Planets Federation. It was issued 119.8 years prior to the construction of this vessel."

"So chances are… If you ended up Three Hundred years into the past. This thing ended up 150 years into the past as well."

"Yes. Indeed, it may be possible that the ship is of itself from a different universe than we are."

"Perhaps, Captain, it is time that we exchange full information." Kyle Rayner said, approaching the captain from the back wall where he was standing with his fellows.

"Your welcome to review as much de-classified information as you'd like. Just so long as we.. What are you doing? Commander Tuvok!" Riker called out, as Kyle Rayner and Hal Jordan both sent green waves of energy into the science station console.

"Captain. The ships computer shows a complete download of information into Mr. Jordan's ring. At the same time, we have been uploaded a comprehensive file."

"Everything that Oa has on this sector. I figured it would be a fair trade."

"Except you went into our classified files. Something you did not have permission for."

"Sir. We downloaded them. We did not un-encrypt them. To do so would require the permission of the officer who did encrypt those files. The Rings cannot control free will, or the actions undertaken of free will."

Captain Riker paused, glancing over at his wife. She smiled, nodded. He felt her familiar reassuring touch on his psyche.

"Commander Vale. Has the Klingon ship noticed us ?"

"No sir."

"Good. Bring us to Yellow Alert and put security and tactical officers on double stand-by."

"Is there any danger?" Wonder Woman asked.

"Not if this is a new ship. Ensign, can we get an active scan of them, without informing their sensors?"

"Sir?"

"Just give me their temporal signatures. I want to know how old every Klingon on that ship is and how old they should be."

"Passive scanners can… Sir, we're being hailed.


	4. Chapter 4

USS Titan 80102

"Commander Vale, Who is hailing us ?"

Riker resisted the urge to turn in his seat and glare at the young hero who hadn't spoken the entire time. This Nightwing wore a mask. He was dashing in a tuxedo, and Deanna was had assured him he didn't mean any harm by it.

Christine Vale paused, staring aghast at the handsome young human who had questioned her. She caught his eye, and he smiled. She resisted a reply smile and instead managed to smirk like a teacher correcting a student. She remained silent. Riker tapped one of his fingers on the edge of his armrest. tap. tap. tap.

"On Screen."

Commander Vale spun to stare at the large view screen on the bridge. She tried not to let her cheeks flush as she looked down at the tactical station. Commander Tuvok stepped slightly to his left. He glanced sideways, listening with his Vulcan ears as much as using his peripheral vision. 'please' Commander Vale whispered.

"Captain, according to the ship's computer, it is based on the Apokalip's basis of a Gunship."

"But all of the New Gods fell. There isn't anymore Apokalips.-" Kyle Rayner was interrupted by a cackle of an elderly woman.

"_Oh, but there is a New Apokalips. It is in battle with neo-Genesis. Now that we have the attention of both of your vessels, I think its time that you surrendered_."

"Both, Mr. Tuvok?" Captain Riker quietly asked to his back left.

"The… Apokaliptian ship was able to detect the D-7 as well. They have forced their transmission into the ships communications grid. I have overridden the controls and am now rerouting all official requests to the secondary tactical station."

"_We just need some of this wonderful weaponry that you have. If I am correct, Granny Goodness will be able to take an entire city for herself with just those wonderful particle acceleration weapons_."

"Sir, the Klingon ship is preparing to open fire on the Apokaliptian ship!"

Heeding Christine's warning, Riker calmly called out. "Yellow Alert. All Hands Battle Stations. Dr. Ree, you'd best report to sickbay. We're bound to have incoming casualties." As the pawke-than turned to walk to the turbo-lift, he was surprised to see several of the ships guests fallowing him.

"Dr. if there's going to be a battle, there's nothing we can do here on the bridge. Me and Cassandra here, we have been trained in emergency medical conditions. At least, current, 21st century emergency conditions… We'd like to help, sir."

"Nightwing, is it ? Tell me, do you know anything about the medical physiology of a crustacionary evolved warrior ? One with spare spines, a web work of 235 bones making up just thier rib-cage ? I understand the need for you to offer help. Perhaps someone else will be able to accept it."

-

IKS Klolos

"…Fire" commanded Captain Koloth. The gunner fired two synchronized phaser blasts at the strange, cigar shaped battleship that had suddenly popped up on their screens.

In front of the captain's chair, another captain sat in the tactical station. Kor had been searching for information on the planet in front of him. Every item of intelligence that the Klingon Defense Force had on it was not matching up, even after his friend Curzon had suggested that they include a pattern of chronal displacement in their search.

"This isn't going to work, you know. That ship is already remodulating it's shields." the Trill ambassador said next to Kor. His fingers were flying over the console, reprogramming the phaser to fire at a different variation.

"Battle Report, Koloth. We have fired a full strength phaser blast at these petaQ and they have absorbed it. No visible damage or anything reported by sensors."

Koloth wished he had been told the news by a lower ranking officer, someone whom he could stab with his honor blade. As it was, he gripped his head, once again felt his still-new ridges. It calmed him to the point of his blood not instantly steaming, instead a calm rage filled simmer pumped his veins.

"What are they…"

USS Titan 80102

"Preparing to launch a small torpedo, Captain."

"Transporter Room. We may need to relocate a projectile"

"_Active and Tracking"_ the officer's smooth voice announced over the comm.

On the Titan's view screen, Granny Goodness's ship fired a small torpedo. The Torpedo flew at the Klingon ship, which fired three successive volleys at it, each one significantly weaker.

The torpedo stopped and spread open.

"Massive energy build up. A cross dimensional vent is being formed in space time." The Martian Manhunter paused himself, straining to hear the excitement in Tuvok's voice.

"Transporter room?" Riker's steel voice called out.

"_Got it_."

IKS Kloloths

"The federation ship must have done it. Transported that portal weapon to the edge of its limit! I knew it looked State of the Art" Curzon cried out. Just seconds ago, he had been reading a new strain of dimention that made anti-matter seem relatively inert. It had been aimed at him and his Klingon host.

Now the same readings began showing up again.

"Um… Guys"

USS Titan 80102

"Sir, I've got a scan coming in. The same dimensional energy that the weapon was applying. It's coming, and fast.

"Captain, We need to get out there. That's some varient of Darkseid and the Omega Beams he uses. Unless your Klingon Allies have 4th world powers, they are going to die. Soon." This was the first time that Hal Jordan had spoken since coming onto the bridge, and it gave Captain Riker a sense that Jordan had served in the military before.

"Transporter Control. This is Captain Riker. Beam all guests to their Lunar station."

"_Aye Sir"_

_-_

The Watchtower, the Moon.

"I knew this was a plot of Darksied."

"Batman…"

The sound of musical chimes filled the chamber, quite unlike the whooshing sounds that came from the teleporters that the Justice League used. The Dark Knight turned around in his chair to see three figures flying towards the space-dock. Wonder Woman and J'onn flew towards the sick-bay. As Jon Stewart developed his own emerald glow and flew away, Batman looked at John Henry Irons and his two protégé.

"Darkseid appears to be back in the game, but I don't think he's in with this ship, Titan. Which is definatly mostly alien, and more civilized than anything outside of Alfred." Nightwing reported.

"The other ship. Klingon. Crabs." Batgirl added.

"Batman… that ship is Alien. Like Alien to Green Lantern Alien. They have the technology up there to conquer the world in a manner of minutes. They could reprogram missiles in their silos, teleport world leaders from across the globe. The Apokaliptian weapon ? They transported it 3 lightyears away, and it was moving." Steel finally ran out of breath. "And I didn't even see the engine room. Oh that ship…"

"It may just be a trap, but we'll play along. If it is, we just can't be in the trap when it's sprung. We'll investigate further."

-

USS Titan 80102

"Captain, the trans-dimensional beam… the Omega Beam, as Mr. Jordan called it, has hit the battle cruiser. The D-7's shields have been collapsed. The beam is eating into the outer hull of the ship."

IKS Kloloths

"Starboard internal shield generators are failing. Casualty-leval atmosphere breech on decks three through 8... Make that 2 through 10..." Curzon Dax decided not to keep telling the Klingons any more.

"Eject log bouy. It is a good day to die. Full forward power. Whatever we have. Target the ship. Whatever we have. Ramming Speed. QaplaH!"

"QaplaH" replied Curzon, Kor and Kang.

"Beam will reach warp core in 4. 3. 2."

USS Titan 80102

"..01..." Curzon finished. Blinking in the bright light, he had a short conversation with his symbiot, which developed into an argument with his past host's memories.

"Oh Good. Your awake. I was going to contemplate wondering if you had been knocked out by the transporter fluctuation we had programmed in.

"There were.. Was.. Is this a federation ship ?" Curzon asked

"Be still. You might have a concussion. Here, let me scan you." The man healed up what looked like a medical tricorder. If you were to take the adds for a simple at home medical bi-corder and shrink it to even half that size.

"No. no… I'm alright."

"I've already identified your symbiote. It was not damaged in the least by the transporter effect."

"If this is a Federation ship, is this a star-fleet ship ?"

"Yes. Welcome aboard the USS Titan. The titan is the Flag-ship of the Luna-Class Starship. It was originally commissioned in early earth year 2368"

"Hold on now… Earth Year… What star date is that ?"

"80192.5 But you didn't let me finish. The Titan was not-"

"Who are you anyway ?"

The man suddenly disappeared. There was the soft click of nails hitting the antiseptic and a-biotic tile floor below. Curzon turned around to see a Pahkwa-thanh approaching him.

"That was the standard EMH that I have handle all my potentially dangerous patents. I'm Dr. Shenti Yisec Eres Ree. I prefere Dr. Ree, however. I must say, it is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Dax. I am a huge fan of your lectures, have all the great lectures of the Academic League saved in my personal holo-files."

"But I haven't… I. I end up lecturing at the Academic League? For What ?"

"Successful first contact with my species, for one. Although I guess you got that one out of the way early. Anyway, as I said, I'm Dr. Ree. Welcome to the Future. Sedative ?"


	5. Chapter 5

Outer Earth Orbit

Superman flew towards the small football shaped projectile, pushing the edge of his abilities, leaving a whirl of space dust and orbital debris after him. As if recognizing the last son of Krypton, the Apokaliptian weapon spun on its axis to face him. The portal on its face dilated, and twin beams of Omega Zone poured from the breach.

The Man of Steel dropped 3 meters to the left, then shot forward in a spiral. The beams arced after him, following every angle of his trajectory. At the last moment, Superman turned around and crossed his arms over his face in protection. The beams dropped below his arms, turning sharp ninety degree angles. They ate through his tunic, bruising and blistering his solar plexus at the same time. Screaming his lungs empty into the vacuum, Superman twisted away, breaking free of the beams' force.

The beams shot past the hero for a meter, then took two hard turns and returned towards him. As the last molecules of oxygen exploded, the beams struck him square in the face.

Seconds after Hal Jordan finished projecting a life sustaining field around the Man of Steel.

USS Titan NCC 80102

Bridge

"He's… safe." Ranul Keru called out from his console. Relief was evident in his voice.

"The other ship ?" Commander Vale asked.

"It's surrounded by another one of those fields. It appears to be completely immobilized. Even its transmissions are being reflected back." Tuvok reported from his station.

"_Dr. Ree to the Bridge_"

"Bridge here, Dr." Captain Riker replied.

"_Our Klingon guests have all been successfully sedated. We also have a Joined Trill onboard as well. He's agreed to help answer any questions he can_."

Sickbay

"_A Joined Trill?_"

"Yes, Captain. He's awake and has already agreed to be scanned for his temporal signature."

"My name is Curzon Dax. I serve as an Ambassador for the Federation. I have been journeying with the Klingon captains Kang, Kor and Koloth. We were aboard Koloth's new ship, the IKS Kloloth. We were traveling from Frelan to Qo'nos…"

"_Ambassador Dax, don't tell me. An unexplained gravity well developed suddenly when you were traveling at warp capability. You ended up in orbit around this planet, which as near as we can tell is indeed Earth. Not our Earth, but one very similar to it."_

"Captain, He is the Curzon Dax from our timeline. Temporal signatures are a match."

"_Ambassador, I would appreciate your help when our other guests wake up. We managed to beam your full crew on board, so it will take some time."_

Outer Earth Orbit

Two Green Lanterns, in uniform, both held the Apokaliptian ship in a concentrated bubble of emerald energy. The warship had fired several torpedoes from ports on its hull. The massive blasts were damaging both fields surrounding the ship. Its shields were rippling with the discharges. Hues of purple, blue and red were beginning to spread in waves around the ship.

Superman had caught up with the strange device that had destroyed the Kloloth, and had managed to impact its hatch shut. The satellite had engaged its Omega Beam weapon again, and its metal shell was starting to glow a dull red. The Man of Steel stole a glance towards his longtime friend. At a nod from Hal Jordan, he launched himself away from the device. The transparent green hue flashed to a deeper translucent forest green, obscuring any details of the Krypton underneath_._

_USS Titan NCC 80102_

"Is that an Anti-matter weapon_ ?"_

"_Unsure, Captain. The device has the same properties as one, but several different frequencies. According to the database uploaded by the Green Lanterns, it is unknown, but fires what are classified as 'Omega Beams.'"_

"Is the Superman all right ?_"_

Again, Tuvok answered_, "Yes. The Green Lantern Hal Jordan was able to project a full strength force field. The Krypton was unharmed, except for the destruction of his cape."_

Captain Riker thought he heard an expression of satisfaction in the voice of his Tactical Officer.

"_Captain, we're registering an unknown energy build-up in the Apokaliptian ship. We've got a massive build up of Positive graviton particles in the cargo-bay of the ship…"_

Outer Earth Orbit

BOOM

Watchtower. The Moon.

"The Apokaliptian ship has opened a boom tube internally. The … Klingon ship has exploded. The Titan has managed to capture several sections of the debris in two separate tractor beams. Still, one third of the ship has already started to enter the atmosphere." Steel finished.

"These debris fields are calculated to land on the Upper East Coast. Gotham will be receiving meteor showers for the next few days. We'll have to be on the lookout for anything big enough to be recovered. Batgirl, Nightwing." The Batman stood up from his station alongside the wall. The other two Gothamites quickly fallowed.


	6. Chapter 6

USS Titan NCC 80102

"So this is what the Federation comes to…" Kor didn't finish the sentence, instead he just let his gaze settle on the wall of the Titan's ready room. The three Klingon captains and Curzon Dax were sitting on the side of the long table, with their backs to the windows.

"Yes. The Khitomer Accords have strengthened both of our Governments. We've been allies in several conflicts, and the Klingon Empire has become our strongest trade partner in intergalactic traffic. I've even had the luck of serving underneath you on an officer exchange training program, Fleet Commander Kang" Riker said. He felt a small nudge of encouragement from his Imzadi.

Deanna Troi-Riker had talked with him, planning out the conference. They had decided that, as there was no current record of any events in the computers log, full information exchange was possible.

"Fleet Commander. Flattery has no use, for Klingons." Kang replied.

"Indeed not" replied Deanna, who could feel the raw pride pouring out of the Klingon captain. "Captain Kang. You must remember that it has been one hundred years since your time. Your rank will rise, and you will have the honor of introducing my Husband to the delicacy of targ, among other things." the Titan's chief diplomatic officer finished her sentence coolly.

"When I woke up in your sickbay… If I may interupt." The young joined trill paused, "your Doctor welcomed me to the future. Just now you said one hundred years have passed since the Khitomer Accords, something we finished hardly a month ago. Yet, according to the stars, this is the Earth slightly before Cochrane's time." Dax paused, rubbing his fingers together in thought. " If the Titan's star charts are indeed accurate, then in fact we are on the eve of a Third World War for the Earth."

"Were we in our own past, yes. However, there is no current record of any Augments that can be found on this Earth's computer network. We've been approached by an organization of costumed characters who claim that they are representatives of the planet, with evidence on their internet that such is the case. There's no record of Khan Noonan Singh, who would have left this planet 12 years ago. Historians agree that his absence is the key failure point of the North American Alliance and the Oriental empire."

"So. We have been pulled into the past, both our ships on their way to Qo'nos. That is all the information we have been able to obtain." Kor had shifted back in his seat. His relaxation showed that he was not above cooperation, however much he complained. Riker silently thanked Kang for all the lessons in etiquette that he had received on board his ship. He suppressed a blush as Deanna telepathically reminded him of the other two teachers he had on board Kang's ship.

"We were traveling back from Romulus. Mr. Dax mentioned you were returning from Frelan. He also tells me that you experienced a sudden gravity well that was uncharted, while traveling at High Warp. When the ship emerged from its warp field, you were here. Correct?"

"Yes. Then, within an hour, My ship was attacked, while yours was not." Klolos said, the bitterness and accuse thick on his breath.

"It would be logical to attack the ship that had its weapons armed first." This was the first time Tuvok had spoken during the meeting. Klolos stared across the table, maintaining a firm glare at the Vulcan. He was still relatively young, for a Klingon, and was not even capable of detecting Vulcan disdain for emotion in the eyes of the elder Vulcan. The youngest of the three captains began to suspect that the Vulcan across from him had successfully eliminated emotions. That is until he was certain he saw Tuvok smirk. It was a Vulcan smirk, the edges of his jaw line tightening slightly.

Kang leaned back. It was obvious to him that the Federation had advanced significantly. He hoped that the Klingons had advanced just as much. He now knew that he did. He was almost certain that his friends had, as well. He started to get a headache thinking about the future as the past while he was in the past. He looked to his left and noticed that Klolos was busily leaning closer and closer, staring at the Vulcan Lieutenant's ear. Perhaps Kor had at least enjoyed a similar promotion. A sudden flash of incredibly bitter rage boiled up between the Klingon's ears. His brain's heart began to pump slowly, and he had to brace himself against the chair to keep from kicking and slamming his fists on the table.

Deana had to grab hold of her husband to keep from falling out of her chair. The Human captain looked across the table at Kang.

"We did read a file concerning you, Dax. Although it is not Curzon. I believe…" The captain paused again, breathing deeply as Deanna suppressed the anger and rage from his and her mind, as well as their severe empathy for the matter. " It reported that one of your successors was able to help our Klingon friends to fulfill a blood oath that I believe you and they share."

"So…" Kor said, speaking again. He had grabbed Klolos by the leg whenever Tuvok had raised an eyebrow at his klingon counterpart. Klolos hadn't noticed, so Kor had taken the initiative in preventing further embarresment. Now the two Klingons were focused on Captain Riker, paying partail attention the Kang. "You finally deliver us some good news from the future. Even if it is a lie."

"My wife and I, we understand what it is to lose a child. We know all too well. We are willing to let you access the ships records. Mr. Tuvok has uploaded the specific duty rosters and common logs involving Mr. Dax's prestigious career."

"Well. There is the manner of my crew, Captain Riker. They cannot stay in… what is it your doctor told me ? Stasis. They cannot stay in Stasis for too long. Such an act would be detrimental to your power banks.

"Dr.s Ree and Ra-Havreii are both confident that they can maintain a successful safe transporter stasis for a standard operating period of approximately 26.5 standard shift rotations. The stasis would not be affected by standard warp drive, but it is advisable to withdraw the transporter stasis should we attempt a cross galaxial plane jump." Tuvok finished crisply.

"I like optimism in Vulcans. Makes me sure that they will succeed. The problem is getting us, and my crew, to our time period safely."

"Again. We are confident that we can do that. Our records have no such incident listed in your history, or more importantly in Mr. Dax's reports. For now, Mi Casa es Su Casa." Captain Riker was dreary in his voice. Klingon diplomacy was always a tiring experience, and the traumatic memory unconsciously shared by Kang concerning his son had not helped. He stood up, nodded at the 23rd century citizens, then walked out of the ready room.

"…One of the Primary languages spoken on Earth. Spanish. It means My home is your Home. The captain extends full privileges to his guests. If you have any questions, please contact me first. As Executive Officer it is my duty to help you. If there's nothing else, than I'll be on the bridge. Tuvok, your shift is coming up on the hour. "

-

Gotham.

The Browery.

"_We have twenty different recovered alien artifacts listed in the Star Labs database. All twenty match up with what we have on record as that Klingon ship._"

"There may be more. Are any of those items listed as weapons."

"_Officially, no. According to the avatar of the Federation program that I have running, 12 of the twenty were listed as Klingon sonic disrupters. 4 others were recognized as Spare power packs. The other 4 experienced too much damage for them to be recognizable_."

"Getting familiar with this space-ships computer, Oracle ?"

"_Boss. There's a problem. Uptown. Some kid found one of those artifacts and managed to turn it on. He just blasted a hole into the side of his school." _Robins even measured tone was spaced enough for Bruce to tell that he had been running as he made his report.

Batman paused and listened to the incoming reports. O'neil Jr. High. Unexplained explosion. 911 calls for Fire. 911 calls for explosion. He listened carefully.

"_Locked into the surveilence for the school, boss. No major injuries. Trying to isolate our perp now."_ Oracle's voice had surged with confidence.

"_Robin, attempt to retrieve the artifact. Use utmost caution. Everyone else, we have confirmed reports that alien weapons have made a successful descent into Gotham, that they are working and highly dangerous. Nightwing, head to the Cauldren. See if any of the mercenaries have come into contact with these things. If they have, go there as a Malone. Tell them there's a major arms developer that is willing to pay full cash through agents. We need to get these things off the streets as fast as possible."_


	7. Chapter 7

Watchtower.

Conference Room.

" We need to talk."

"_Concerning?_" Captain Riker's voice was strained. Batman did not care. He was certain that the captain was under an extreme amount of stress. His ship was misplaced in the past of an Alternative Earth from the one he had grown up on. Worse still, the history of his planet was entirely different following the second world war. Batman had currently revised himself on over half of the Titan's crew roster, pouring over the databases that the Corps had uploaded to the Watchtower's computers upon their return.

"Klingons. Klingon weapons. Sonic Disrupters."

"_My ship was able to capture as much large debris as possible. But. Those weapons were built for colonizing military invasion. It is possible that they were made to withstand standard atmospheric reentry. Sacrificing a ship with a volunteer suicide crew after beaming down the majority of the troops is not unheard of for Klingon Military Planning."_

Batman did not move even an inch. Across from the stainless steel cubicle, Captain Riker's face slowly locked into his own poker-mask.

"_We will scan the city and do individual item transports."_

"No. Gotham is my city. My people will take care of it."

Captain Riker suddenly felt the immense pride of the man. He paused, doing his best to approach the situation diplomatically.

"_We could provide you with a program to develop a scanning module of your own, out of your own technology. Then, you could build it yourself. You could take care of it yourself."_ Riker paused and gritted his teeth. It was just as frustrating to have an offer to help refused as it was for a plea for help be refused. "_If that would be acceptable. We are however working on our own problem. We do not wish to become residents after all."_

"Of course, Captain. I would be willing to help you, in any way I could, just so long as I would be able to maintain a controlled level of criminal activity within my own city. Without alien weapons advanced enough to blow holes through the sides of schools."

Captain Riker's eyebrows raised at this statement.

"_Sonic Disrupters shouldn't be that powerful. I'll have an engineer transmit the data to your Watchtower as soon as possible. They shouldn't be able to do that. Much less after an atmospheric entry… Riker Out"_

The screen suddenly went blank. Batman was impressed that the captain had actually ended the conversation dark knight stood up from his chair and made his way to the Teleporter Booth.

Earth.

Keystone City.

"Alright Piper. What is it ?"

"Well, Flash. Its this. I was working in my lab with the telemetries, trying to find the right sequence of tunes to get the squirrels outside of my apartment to stop throwing nuts at me whenever I leave my apartmen… Its not funny, Flash. One of them hit me in my eye the other day." Hartley Rathaway waited until his long-time friend finished chuckling. For a man who could live at light-speed, he certainly took the time to enjoy the little things. Like his friend getting harassed by red-tailed squirrels

"Anyway, I was in my lab, doing a test run, when all of a sudden this drops in." The Pied Piper handed the Scarlet Speedster a loosely wrapped object, itself draped with shiny green polyester.

"Drops in?"

"Flashes in, if you'll pardon the term. Was not there. Was Suddenly there. On the work table. Came down loud enough to put an inch dent into the walnut."

"Any reason why ?"

"Well, it's a sound weapon. Projects sonic waves that disrupt standard molecular patterns. Way different than anything I've developed. I mean, sure a few years ago during the whole Kobra mess, I was able to set up an amplifier that Bart was able to use. It was just stuff I was able to build from a music store. This thing, it doesn't even pick up magnetic resonation. Has a small battery in it. I was able to get it out, but it seems like it only manages to work on this thing."

"You think it came to you because you're a master of sonics ?"

"I would be honored to think so, but no. As far as I can tell, its random. The thing is highly destructive. I blew out two layers of sound padding like it was nothing."

"Maybe it was random. Still, lucky it landed in your hands."

"I'm not a rogue anymore, Flash. You know that. I just work on super-sonic telemetries for Star Labs these days."

"And use your flute to control Rodents."

"Hey, in this organic age, people will pay you a high fee for getting rid of the mice in the walls. Chemically free. Humane, too"

"And if they don't pay, you going to play your flute and draw away the children?"

"White Slavery doesn't pay too well in the middle of the States so… I was kidding, Flash. I'm not a Rogue anymore. No, I just look up the price of the most successful competition, then drop it by 10 dollars. I also don't work unless I get paid. Before hand. My namesake may have had his revenge, but if he'd been a better businessman, then…"

"You would have been forced to name yourself something god awful like 'The Sound Blaster'"

"I actually was thinking of reverse engineering that thing, turning it into something like a sand blaster. If I could…" Hartley Rathaway paused, realizing that as he'd gone into his monologue on the capabilities of it, Wally West had disappeared.

"Well. There. Civic Duty done, check. Next on my list, finish the sequence for the brain control of one red tailed squirrel. Lets see, where was I when that thing showed up. Ah, yes" The Pied Piper picked up his stylus and went back to work on the flat screen pad on his desk.

There was a flutter and a breeze throughout his lab. Hartley sighed and began to gather up the documents that had spread themselves across the desk. It wasn't until he had gathered the full pile together that he realized that they weren't his.

"Brilliant. Outstanding. Alien. I suppose you want me to build this for you, you and the league, right? Flash?"

"We were hoping on it." The voice that came from the shadows was definitely not Wally West. The sorcerer of sound paused until he had recognized the voice.

"Nightwing. I didn't realize that Wally had brought you into this. Officially with the league these days, or is this sort of thing a liaison job."

"Actually, Piper. We brought Flash into this. It is convenient that you managed to have one of these appear in your office. They've been landing all over Gotham for the past 15 hours." a different voice, deeper in the shadows.

Rathaway could hear the stress in the younger voice. He'd never gotten to know Robin. He'd been able to watch baseball games with Robbie Malone, or whatever it was that Nightwing was calling his civilian identity those days, over at Wally and Linda's house. He didn't know the current Robin outside of the costume, basically off duty. Piper scowled.

"You suspicious that I may be involved with them and their appearance ?"

"It is mighty convenient for you to be a master of Sonic technology, working in Star Labs, and to suddenly find one."

"Yeah. After I figured out it was a weapon, I contacted Wally! Have you looked at these things, Robin. They're alien."

"You could have seen it for a weapon at first glance. It has barrels. It has a pistol grip. It has a trigger. Certainly familiar signs of a weapon."

"Robin… is right. It does seem like it would be easy to determine this thing as a weapon."

Piper stood up and walked to the corner shelf of his office. There, he picked up an ultrasonic microphone.

"Pistol Grip. Barrel. Trigger. Pull the trigger, it completes the circuit, you can now hear what is and isn't being said a city block away. Not a weapon. I saw some alien technology. I turned it in."

"Which is why we're asking you to build this. Listen, these things can do a lot more then tear through soundproofing. They can tear though brick walls. Steel support beams. So far, you're the only non-badguy to get their hands on one without a fight from a good guy." The Flash put emphasis on the non-bad guy part.

"W…. My soundproofing it fiberglass. Interwoven with vibranium-titanium fibers, mounted on an inch thick Kevlar pad. Its stronger than standard bricks. Yeah. Give me 2 days. I'll start machining the parts now. That should leave you enough time to tear through my lab, look for more alien weapons, not to mention download all my current notes, bug the place, and steal all my porns from the hidden compartment underneath my keyboard shelf."

"We wouldn't do that, Piper. You know you can trust me." Flash actually sounded insulted.

"I wasn't referring to you. Oh, by the way , Robin. I am gay. You might not want to actually watch the porno you find. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go place an order with the machinists down the hallway."

USS Titan NCC 80102

Ready Room

"Why are the sonic disrupters you had on board capable of destroying brick and steel ?"

"They were specially equipped. it's the battery, you see. It has its own magnetic resonance. It was based on-"

"SILENCE, Foolish PetaQ ! You are not allowed to discuss such things with them. You are sworn to secrecy. Not even our government may know about them. It would be an act of treason. I would have to kill you myself just to be spared the honor of killing the winner of our other oath brothers." At the outburst from Kang to Curzon, Riker shut his mouth and glanced at his first officer. It was his third in command, Tuvok, who attempted to supply an alternative solution.

"We are experiencing an unexplainable number of damage reports from the surface of the planet below, Capt. It is my recommendation that we commence a full scan of the planet. It is indeed possible that we could trace the unexplained appearance of the different objects by the background radiation they have created."

"Yes. Captain, I agree. If we could get a full scan of where the items are and how they've arrived, we may be able to configure additional data into our own mysterious entrance to this alternate earth. Its quite possible that the two events are related. The reason that Commanders Pazlov and Ra-Havareii are absent is that they are working with Kor and Kolos in determining if the destructors of his ship, might possibly be related to our entrance here."

"If you can't tell me why your disrupters are so powerful, can you tell me if they were able to survive atmospheric entry to an M-class planet ?"

Curzon looked at Kang. Kang looked at Curzon, then across the table to Christine and Tuvok. Kang sat back in his seat and looked at his hand.

"Captain Riker. You mentioned that you had our computer history in your databanks. You claim to know both of us. But who are you to say these things. You state that we are in a different universe from your own. We are from a different time period. You can identify this with your computer. So whats to stop me from saying that we might not be from your own universe as well. There is a story I've heard of. One involving James T. Kirk. He told me the story around the captains table, on some planet I never expected to see him on, it being deep in the heart of our territory. He told a grand tale, great enough the bartender brought us a whole round of his favorite, Surian Brandy. He told us of a Mirror Universe. One Almost exactly like ours, except where the federation was an empire. An evil one. Why is it not possible this is an Alternate Universe for both of us."

"Your right. Curzon Dax might be a spy for the federation in your universe, sent to get close to you and then to assasinate the entire sector of high ranking officers whenever you assemble for your fleet assignments. In the meantime he could be sowing the seeds of an economic dependency which will last far far long after the fifty year atmospheric cleanup, which will probably, in the universe you might be from, actually be tainted with radiation from cheap nuclear bombs that are banned in our universe. Have been since before the federation of Planets was even founded."

"They have been in our universe. You matched the quantam signatures on us. You know we're from the same universe as you. In which I am not a spy or an assassin. I'm just an ambassador."

"Who helped the three klingon captains that are onboard my ship devolop a new form of Sonic Disrupters that were capable of firing in ultra limited gravity or even in heavily ionized areas where a sonic disrupter wouldn't normally work. Dax, you were once an engineer. I brought up atomic weapons because those were used by the humans during the Earth-Romulan war. The humans developed phase cannon technology shortly after. However, I'm willing to bet that by the time the Federation's first Enterprise stole the cloaking device from a romulan war bird, the Romulans had been able to reverse engineer the weapon into a much smaller package, probably one that could use its charging sequence to attract debris. One that would then have irradiated shrapnel as an additional offense. That in turn evolved into an incredible power supply, one capable of producing a near un-exhaustible charge. The record doesn't state where the power supply came from, of course. However we know that Frelan was a Romulan outpost and trade center with different interspatial governments." Riker paused, and shifted his gaze to the Klingon. " We also know that, in your timeline, your currently allied with the Romulans. Millitary Technology trade, I believe, is the basis of your relationship."

"If you already knew we had developed incredibly powerfull disrupters, why bother to ask us the other questions?" Kang stared back at the human captain.

"The disrupters have entered the Earths atmosphere. People are getting hurt. That's why."

"They were designed to hurt. I engineered those things to be operative at a Class Y environmental level. They weren't calibrated for an M-class planet. That they survived the initial explosion of the Klolos is remarkable, however. With the armory being located so close to the warp core, they should have ignited whenever it did."

Riker paused at Curzon's statement. He glanced over the Klingon and turned his gaze on Tuvok.

"Mr. Tuvok, have Christine assign you a full science team. Review any data we collected involving the destruction of the IKS Klolos. The ship exploded, and we assume that it was due to a warp core breach. Yet there are multiple sonic disrupter power cells that should have ignited in such a blast. Help the Klingons figure out what really happened. Captain, I appreciate your help in the matter."

"Then if we are done, I will take my leave and return to that very study which I was interrupted from". Kang stood and walked out of the door with a proud stride. The two Titan officers shared a glance and then shifted their attention on Curzon Dax. "How do the federation Captain's deal with Klingons in your timeline, Dax?"

"They use ambassadors. To help avoid confusion. When that fails, they use fists. Fists, that's something that Klingons will always understand."


	8. Chapter 8

Metropolis.

Daily Planet

Confrence Room.

-

"Lane, you get anything more out of those STAR Labs people on these new weapons that are popping up in Gotham?"

"No Chief. Every single Labs operative we can reach from the coast to the Mississippi is non-compliant."

"Is the government shutting us out? Alien Conspiracy ?"

"Maybe they're not saying anything because its Gotham."

"Then why would our branch clam up, or New York, Keystone, Central, Washington DC is silent too."

"They may not be informed. STAR Labs are completely independent from one another. The only thing they have shared is funding and joint projects."

"Joint Projects… Kent, you just got yourself an assignment. Find any and all joint projects between the different labs. Focus on anything that's connected to Gotham. We know that there are some strange weapons up there. Professor Hamilton is certain that they aren't from here, either. Theres a story out there, and we are going to find it."

"On it Chief."

"Lane. Take Hamilton down to the Media room. Maybe we'll be able to spot some new details in the news footage. Kent, Lane, your dismissed."

The married couple walked out of the conference room, Clark gently pulling the door shut behind him.

"So, it is aliens ?"

"About 12 different kinds, so far. From the future. Alternative Universe."

"Anything to be worried about ?"

"If they were malicious, I would be. They could develop a weapon to take me down, if they wanted."

"But ?"

"They tried to help save me whenever the ship from Neo-Apokalips attacked me. They teleported the entire compliment of another alien ship on board whenever it was destroyed."

"Another ship, Clark ? How many of these things are there ?"

"We don't know. They don't know. Captain Riker has assured me that, as far as their sensors can tell, they're now the only ship from their universe in Sector 2814." A chirp on his cell phone interrupted the man of steel's conversation with his wife.

"Clark here"

"_Piper has finished the construction of the identifier. Liberty Belle has already searched one half of our target area. Flash just checked in. No more sonic disrupters on the east coast outside of the cities."_ Clark leaned his head sideways, securing the phone between his shoulder and ear.

"No more of those Klingon disrupters in Rural areas. Now I have to go."

"I understand. I love you."

"Understood. Ready to take the device from Wally now. Clark out."

"Honey, I love you too. This shouldn't take that long. Wally just entered the city-" The man of steel had already stripped his jacket off and was quickly unbuttoning his shirt.

"Here you go. This big green beacon is the Titan. The little red one is the disrupter I've got here. When you twist this dial, it expands the search. The screen is touch sensitive, so if you click on a beacon," Flash paused and tapped the small red dot he had just indicated. "It brings up information. How far away the thing is, which direction, and its power charge. Me and Jesse just recovered 8 of them. The closer we get to Gotham, the more there are. Good Luck"

With that, the fastest man on earth disappeared, leaving a floating Superman in the middle of a hallway, holding what resembled a metal detector with a much larger then normal screen on identifier started beaping. The man of steel looked over at his wife and gave her a disarming smile.

"Could you put up my briefcase. Apparently these things are in town."

"They're here ? People could get hurt. Go!"

_-_

New York City

Warrior's

"So, the old place is still holding together ?" Guy Gardner asked, gazing up at the display of Power Rings, Batteries, and College Football Helmets above the bar.

"Yeah. I hear that you opened up another one of these on Oa."

"Ok. The bar was sold at Public Auction. None of this is an original anyway, so I didn't question why the place was still here. Maybe some local guy decided he liked it, bought it up and filled the kegs to full."

"Something like that"

"Some local guy that sounds like the Cauldron."

"Hey, calling somebody a Mick from Gotham could get you into a lot of pain, buddy."

"You know who I am, pal ?"

"Why, yes. Yes I do. You're the guy that got knocked out in one punch."

Gardner took a step back from the bartender. He didn't like this guy, had an attitude, had a Gotham accent. Had been wearing those same damn cheap sunglasses the entire time.

"So how do you know about that little incident."

"It was on their minds, whenever I had my audition. Can you believe they would hire a guy like me ? I mean, sure, they hired you. Two super-models, too. Must have been a pretty simple gig, back then. I mean, Booster Gold was on the team. Booster muthalovin Gold."

"Who the hell are you, creep?"

"That's what I like about you. Here you are, a Prime Lantern, the guy who was head of the Honor Guard for the Guardians. Yet you don't even use that little ring of yours. Could have identified me right away, kept my prying little psychic tendrils out of your mind. Instead all you could think about was who is this annoying little punk from Gotham who won't take off those damn sunglasses. What is he doing in my bar. And yes, we do still have that case of Tamaranian Lager in the basement."

Gardner paused for a second. His ring silently identified the jerk in front of him, transmitting the information to his head.

"Batman told me you had died. I asked cause I was looking for some questionable people for a little black ops I had going on."

"I'm not going to go prying into that little bit. There's some things that I look into, some things I know where to keep my mouth shut."

"Oh, its alright. I've put up my shields. It was a little darker than the standard Black Ops."

"Ultra Violet. Top Secret. Top level of violence. I understand."

"and he told me that Humans just couldn't stomach it…"

"This isn't about that, though. I was dead. I don't know exactly what happened, but it did happen. I woke up in some unknown location. All the information I could get was that it was a Lab. Maybe the Lab. Apperently they had augmented my virus borne powers. I now had a healing factor. They told me that my Job was to kill Mitch."

"Mitch?"

"Yeah. Not a bad fellow. The problem is, he can come back."

"Come back? Come again?"

"Yeah, let me tell you"

The story took the better part of the morning. Three full bottles of Tamaranian Lager were consumed, along with a few fingers of the premium Kentucky bourbon that Tommy Monhagen kept under the bar. It wasn't what Gardner preferred, but he got to like the man who had taken over his old business.

"So, your telling me, if I were to, say, knock down a building on this guy, he would die. Then, however, whenever he was supposed to cool down, he would wake up, invulnerable to debris falling, and therefore, large scale attacks."

"Yeah."

"Then, just take him out with a laser beam to a vulnerable spot"

"He wakes up and is now reflective. All light bounces off of him. In the sun he glows."

"So how did you end up here.?"

"I killed Mitch."

"But he comes back"

"Sure, eventually he'll figure a way out of that building's foundation"

"How long?"

"Well, I figure, about another 6 months, whenever his body finally readapts itself to being buried."

"What makes you think it would take so long ?"

"A gentleman never tells. If those classy bastichs won't, I won't either."

"I need you to get into the Darkstars information database and look up any and everything they've recorded on intra-dimensional contact."

Tommy paused with a shot glass halfway to his lips. He lowered the glass slightly and looked over the top of his sunglasses at the Green Lantern.

"You find me, 3 months after I manage to retire, to really disappear,"

Guy tried to ignore the fact that the bartenders eyes were really ,really bothering him. Yeah, he'd seen just about every single sentient life form in the galaxy, at least all known to the Lanterns. He'd even made it out of the anti-matter universe, making him a very elite club member, the gold status. Silver was awarded to those who made it into the Anti-matter universe. Post Mortem. Still, it was kind of freaky to look into the eyes of a certified killer and see them just as black pools, reflecting nothing.

"Yeah. I figured that there would be somebody who would be up for the task. So does Batman know your alive ?"

"I haven't been in Gotham for over a year. If the memories I stole from the jerks who re-animated me are correct, he's the one who closed my eyes after the shootout. You know I know who he is ? I never let myself think about it, but I'm sure I know who he is."

"Really. Who is he really?"

"Well, he was… He's Batman. The other guy, outside of the mask. He's the costume. Besides, where I come from, we keep our own."

"Yeah… Nightwing always used to say that they raised them Stupid in Gotham."

"Here I was thinking you went to school in Michigan."

"Will you take the job?"

"No"

"Why not ?"

"The Darkstars are the Interpol of space. They're going ragged trying to keep a lid on the Rann conflict, something that you Lanterns don't even want to get into."

"Pretty astute for a Bartender in New York"

"Your thoughts exactly. Sir."

"I didn't even offer you a price"

"No need. I own my own bar. No guns in here. Ever. You can't bring my friends back to life, so theres nothing you can offer me to stick my neck out like that."

"I understand. "

"Its 3 O'clock. I need to put on the juke box. If you want to goad me into being a pawn, just give me a call after you experience full bowel failure, have both your lungs punctured, and die on the operating table as a Surgion is fishing the chunks of your teeth out of your brainstem."

"You mentioned they put in a healing factor ?"

"Nothing fancy. I don't think I can regenerate large items. No fingers to settle my debts. It was able to help me get over a punctured lung and a broken leg."

"This took how long ?"

"About three weeks, complete recovery. Punctured Lungs hurt."

Guy took in a deep breath, then snorted it out of his nose.

Both men looked up whenever the stranger walked in. He was dressed in a lounge suit with a black fedora jammed down over his head until it had met significant resistance from his ears. Tommy took a long look at the man. Guy didn't bother to check out the man at all. His ring scanned the visitor upon entrance to Warriors. It had just finished informing him.

"Who the hell are you ?"

"John." Tommy stared up at the man, trying to discreetly read his mind. "That won't work."

"the Martian. Nice. What can I do for you ? I don't think we have any Oreos"

"I came because Guy Gardner is not answering his Justice League communicator. The Titan has dispatched officers to Earth." The nondescript man stood behind the Green Lantern, who by this point was hunched over bar in heavy conversation. Guy Gardner turned his head and looked at the disguised Manhunter.

"Where ?"

"California."

"Where in California ?"

"Coast City"

"…Has Hal…?"

"No. He and Kyle have reported to Oa in order to finalize the report on the Titan. It is not expected that they return for another three Hours."

"Who's there ?"

"We have members of the titans Standing by. No one has actually confronted the officers"

"Alright. Batman ?"

"He says its not his problem. He told them to stay out of his City. They have."

"Hey Hey, that's Batman for you." Both Leaguers turned to face the chuckling bartender.

"What ? I'm from Gotham. The Cauldron. The Cauldron, man." Tommy paused, amazed at the look on the other two men's face. "Oh right. No other capes. His sandbox, his toys… Right. Well. You two best be on your way."

The green lantern shifted off his bar stool. As he put his full weight down on the floor, he suddenly grabbed the bar to keep from falling over.

"Damn Bourbon. That's it. You did this to me, You get to make sure I'm alright. That's my offer.

Take it."

Tommy started to chuckle again before he felt a warm glow envelop him.

"No. Nope. Nu-uh. No!"


	9. Chapter 9

Gotham.

-

"So he managed to sweep the entire city in 25 minutes."

"Really. I hope he didn't break a sweat."

"Actually, big brother, he looked pretty beat up"

"Oh yeah ?" Concern flickered in Nightwing's eyes.

"Yeah. His cape was gone. He had dirt on his cheek. He sniffled."

"Superman sniffled ?"

"Yes."

"…Maybe he got an Alien cold. Maybe we should get checked out."

"He said he got hit in the face by one of those things. Close range."

"He took a blast from one of these things in the face ?"

"I know. Man of Steel" Robin finished fastening the zip tie around the support pole in the office of the warehouse they had just secured. With the last goon taken care of, he turned and walked over to Nightwing, who was currently knocking shards of glass out of the offices window with his tonfa stick, doing so nonchalantly.

When Nightwing heard his little brother's measured steps behind him, he turned and smiled one of his best evil smiles.

"So now we caught you. You and your little crew managed to get four of these bad boys. Experimental tech like this doesn't belong in the hands of small fish like you." Robin said

"Where did you get those marvelous toys, Small fish" There was no response from the gagged gang leader. Nightwing bent low and gathered the hood's collar in his fist and lifted until the perp's toes were scrapping for purchase. This finally got a whimper out of the gang leader. "Maybe we should just filet you and get it over with." Nightwing swung the man around to slam into the wall of the office. The entire wall shook, and glass fell from the frame into the main area of the warehouse that the office over saw.

"No filet. He's a small fish. We should just fry him whole. An example." Robin picked up one of the Sonic Disrupters in his hands and span it around, inspecting it. He fiddled with the controls for a while, as if absentminded.

"I want to filet." Growled the cobalt clad hero.

"Fry"

"Filet"

"Toast"

"Blackened?"

"Cajun. Use one of these on him" Next to the broken window, the perps eyes got real big and his muffles increased.

"I still say we Filet the little fish. Cut him up, Debone him." Nightwing sheathed his tonfa stick on his lower back and reached out. He grabbed a triangle of broken glass from the corner of a frame. With an audible snap and a tiny explosion of glass, the triangle came free. Nightwing slackened his grip on the perp, who fell to the floor and started to crawl towards Robin. Nightwing stepped forward and grabbed the man's shoulder. At this point, Robin aimed the disrupter at the now vacant office wall and fired.

There was no actual explosion of flames, but the boards shattered off their framing, and a smoking mess of debris embedded itself in the near wall of the factory.

"Cajun it is." Nightwing stated. He spun the perp around to face him, and slashed at his face.

Slowly the two pieces of gag that had been keeping the punk silent fell to the floor of the office. "squeal boy. Squeal like a pig."

"I….I…..I'll tell you who I got it from…" the man stammered. "You… you guys don't kill. Your… you're the good guys. No killing. Right. No killing ?"

"Oh. It won't be us that kills you. it's the wounds we give you, that will kill you. Now…" Robin brushed some imaginary dust off the top of the disrupter he was holding. "oh theres the power level. Turn that up- Oh. Your still awake. Now. Everything."

"Everything? I mean…."

"Technically, We don't even give you the wounds. Gravity does that. Come here!" Nightwing jerked the guy up by the Collar again and carried him over to the edge. This time, he lowered the perp about a foot. The gang leader started kicking and screaming, banging his shins against the edge of the office floor. "Sh. Shoosh. Sh sh sh now. Be quiet or else you won't here it" the perp calmed down somewhat, ceasing any noise he was making. He watched Nightwing bring up the glass shard again, watched him flick it out.

"Hear what?" Robin asked.

There was a faint clank from below the office as the shard made contact with the floor.

"The Distance. The Height."

"Ok. Ok. Everything. The guy we got it from is down in the tunnels near the docks. He does his work in the bars there…"

-

The Batcave

Gotham

The dark knight had heard the chime of the intruder alarm. He had tracked the speed of the entrance, noticed that there had been no explosions of any sort. A glance at an accessory monitor had told him that the Teleport Booth in Gotham Central's basement had been activated.

"Clark"

"Bruce."

The world's finest team of heroes sat in the silence of the cave for an ackward second. Batman didn't bother moving, knowing that his armor would interfere with the x-ray vision while Superman read over his shoulder. He almost let himself feel annoyed whenever he realized that the Metropolis citizen had simply hovered to a higher vantage point.

"Cocoa and Snicker doodle Cookies. Your mother's recipe." Bruce was not surprised that Alfred had brought down the cookies so quickly. He suspected that Martian technology was employed in the Manor's kitchen.

"Thank you Alfred. Speaking of my mom, I don't suppose…"

"Yes sir. A Gentleman's Gentleman is always discreet to repair any tears that the wife or mother may cry havoc upon." At this Batman finally turned around and inspected the Krypton.

"Sonics can give you a nosebleed, I see."

"The guy thought it was a joke. His friend had purchased it at the flea market. Somebody found it in the trash, thought it was an old prop from a demolished television studio. It was his birthday. They thought I was an actor. He shot me in the face."

"Destroyed your cape. Half your costume too. You've got something…" Batman rubbed his thumb across his cheek. The man of steel mimicked the movement and removed crystallized concrete from his face. As he did he peeled a thin layer of dead skin from his face. Batman tried not to smirk as the man of steel winced slightly.

"Robe, sir?" Alfred had reappeared, holding a large terry robe. The man of steel took it, flew off into the depths of the cave and back again in less than a minute. As he landed, he handed his costume over to Alfred.

"Alfred, what play was that line from ?"

"Line, sir ?"

"I know you used to act. Bruce told me. What line is that play from ?"

"None sir. I just wanted to say that since the young master Wayne first came home with claw marks on his chest and wouldn't stop talking about this remarkable cat burglar. "

The young master Wayne cleared his throat.

"You want to send them to Oa after we get all the disrupters back to them?"

"I don't know. Did John get the message to the Guardians ?"

"Yes. I'd say that the ball is in the hands of Christine Vale and her away team"

"You've been reviewing their files ?"

"Files, common history, crew records."

"And ?"

"I have to believe I would have to be in the Tactical branch, Although at the Acadamy I would have cross trained in Command ranks. Although I'm sure that the record would have been different. No real muggings in their era, no real criminals. Oh, and if we had been in their universe and time-frame, you would probably be a common Krypton citizen. Probably a new Krypton, where the Federation would have helped the citizens relocate. Probably even move entire cities." At this strange optimism from his long time friend, Clark decided to change the subject slightly.

"What about this Riker fellow ?"

"I believe what he says. Seems like a good officer, from his record. He served as the Executive officer on the Federation's flagship."

"The Enterprise ?"

"Yes. He was born in Alaska."

"You read into things too much"

"Never too careful."

". . . How's Roy handling things there ?"

"Since they're Aliens, and Guy Gardner is the highest ranking Green Lantern, he gets precedence."

"We have Guy Gardner and Red Arrow there?"

"J'onn left the tower 5 minutes ago to track down Gardner. He wasn't answering any pages."

"Where was he ?"

"His old bar"

"It gets better and better"

-

The monument.

Coast City, California.

"Its structure suggest that it is engineered Jade. The residual energy signature within it is similar to the radiation signature that was left by Kyle Rayner's ring." Tuvok lowered his tricorder as he walked around the base of the large statue of Hal Jordan.

"Their records didn't include anything about this. This statue is almost a decade old, right after the records we exchanged with them listed Kyle as becoming the Green Lantern of sector 2814. Perhaps he did this as a final skill test? Sculpting a larger than life statue of his mentor." Christine looked around at her away team.

"Infatuation." replied Ranul Keru. Deana Troi-Riker stepped forward and offered her own take.

"Could be. However, I suspect that perhaps Kyle thought that Hal Jordan was dead, and this is a memorial he constructed. He told us he was also an artist, so maybe this is a test of his skills, when he first received the ring."

"What about the rest of this place ? There are flare ups all across the scale here. Something big happened. Its also something that the Green Lanterns feel we didn't need to know about. Why?"

A flair arrow flew up into the air, attracting the attention of the entire away team. By reflex, Keru drew his phasor and stepped forward. Tuvok stepped behind him. Christine closed her tricorder and sheathed it in her uniform belt.

"Tuvok, how long have we been watched ?"

"Most likely since we've arrived. However, due to local conditions, we were not able to detect those in observation of us. They may have just wished to observe us. The flair could simply be a warning, a proverbial two minute warning for us to vacate."

"Understood. Though if they plan to make us leave, we should know why." Christine replied.

Over the hill came the Titans. Beast boy galloped in as a giant green Ram. Raven floated down the crest. Donna Troy carried in Red Arrow. Flash skidded to a halt.

Tuvok identified them within seconds.

"The Titans. They are a team closely related to the Justice League."

"Keru. Stand down. Deanna?" Commanders Vale and Troi stepped past the two Tactical officers to meet the Titans. Red Arrow stepped forward from his group.

"Commander Vale, right ? I'm Roy Williams. Red Arrow. Nice to meet you. Why are you here ?"

"It seems that this location is a source of radiation signatures very similar to the distortion that threw us into your universe, according to our records. It was also disconcerting that the same signatures are censored from the information that we received from your people."

"Its more complicated then that- Flash, to the southwest"

-

Formally Downtown

Coast City California.

"It would appear, Guy Gardner, that you are not suited to operating under the influence."

"I agree with John… J'onn. Oh yeah. Your the Martian Manhunter. You look better in Green. Less Creepy." Tommy agreed.

"Its not the alcohol. Its just. Hal used to have a third story apartment right here. You guys alright ?"

"It does hurt some. I think I broke a few ribs. So, why did you feel the need to drag me along here?"

"That was the alcohol. You sounded board. What am I supposed to do?"

"J'onn, Guy…dude…, You all ok ?"

"Fine. We're fine. Where are the Titans, Flash?"

"Over there. Right by the statue. They said their investigating the background radiation of the area. Apparently, the whole mess a decade ago left signatures of the source of their hop into our dimension." Guy stared at the crimson clad speedster. The Green Lantern stood up and brushed himself off.

"So they just come unannounced here, without a reason as to why or how it is. That's great. Step on Toes like that. Not fair, no way. I am going to whoop on some ass!"

"Seems like they have a reason to me, Guy." interjected Tommy, who had stood up and was holding his ribs.

"Shut up. Your just a glorified bar tender. In my bar, of all places. For all I know, your with these out of space freaks." Guy spun around and was raising a fist towards Tommy when the Martian Manhunter collected the Green Lantern's fist.

"The Alcohol appears to have altered your judgement, Guy Gardner"

"Yeah. Your probably right. So. If they have any questions regarding the background energy, then they'll get their answers." With that, the Green Lantern took to the sky and flew off toward the statue that dominated the barren landscape. The three remaining men stood there for a second. Tommy was the first to speak.

"Oh boy. I suppose that this little interplanetary incident will be all blamed on me. Its always the suppliers fault, never the user… What ?"As Tommy's statement ended , The Flash just shook his head, then disappeared off towards the rest of his team.

-

The monument

The Titan's away team floated in a captive bubble of green energy, held three or so meters above the ground.

"Its nice to ask, young lady!"

"Guy! We have this handled. Put them Down!"

"Don't tell me what to do, little Arrow. This is interplanetary business. Not your place!" Guy was getting pissed off about the Titans interfering with his business. As senior-most ranking member of the Green Lanterns currently on the planet, it was his responsibility. In his mind, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that the Titan's appearance in the Earth's atmosphere had been one of the worse things that had happened to him this year. Granted it had been a pretty good year, so far. Almost Christmas time and he hadn't yet had to deal with something tremendously disappointing. As the whiskey worked its way through his system, the density of the pressure bubble in which the away team was imprisoned lowered.

"Commander, I believe that the field will be susceptible to breach within three minutes" reported Tuvok, who had discreetly opened his tricorder and had been monitoring the field since they had been imprisoned mere moments before.

"I heard that, long ears!" Guy called out.

"Is he drunk?" asked Changeling.

"I think so… perhaps we should let Roy handle this" replied Donna Troy.

"The field has regained full tensile strength."

-

USS Titan.

The Ready Room.

"Captain, I believe that we may be able to find better access to our own universe if we were to find a greater nexus point."

"You suggesting that since our portal collapsed, perhaps there might be another one that goes back to the same spot."

"Yes. The sensor logs suggest that this universe is rich in parallel dimension phenomena, more so then even our own home universe. Therefore it would be logical for us to find another door back to our own home universe. Sir."

"Agreed. However, what… These people are not civilized. Mr. Pazlor, Dr. ra-Havrei. Excuse me."

Riker abruptly slid back his chair and walked to the bridge. Upon his arrival, Kor turned around from his seat next to the Conn. The shift officer followed the motion of the Klingon and stood up as Riker approached his chair.

"Helm, get me a connection to the JLA. Now."

The connection took a second, then an illustrated green face appeared on the screen. At the sight of its color, Riker inwardly groaned.

"_Oracle here. How may I direct your call_."

"This is Captain Riker of the USS Titan. I demand to speak with the leader of the JLA, or failing that, the direct superior of whomever is harassing my away team during their current mission of gathering intelligence."

"…_I'll patch you through to someone who can help. Oracle out."_

_-_

Coast City.

The monument.

"Don't Call me Little Arrow!" Roy was pissed. Here was one of the old guard who still didn't listen to him. Here was a colleague of his guardian, only instead of the calm reassuring green lantern that Roy had known in his youth, this was the second stringer, the asshole. "Flash, could you get me something yellow?"

Wally West was gone in an instant, and less then a second later, Red Arrow found himself holding a billowing yellow scarf lifted off a manikin from the nearest open mall. He quietly looked at Donna and lifted his eyebrows towards Guy.

"Guy, please. They were just here to find out some information, that's all. They meant no harm or anything."

"There are rules, damn it! They could have asked. Hell, we gave them our whole story. For Crying out loud, they have to go and dig up old wounds. Its not tearing off a scab with them, its cutting open a scar! That's it. I'm going to take them to Oa and let Hal deal with th-" The green lantern was suddenly blindsided by a red boxing glove that had been wrapped in a saffron colored silk scarf. The martian man hunter suddenly became visible behind him and lowered the now unconscious Green Lantern to the ground.

Those heroes that could fly intercepted the Titan's away team before they could hit the ground. Changeling took the form a large bird of prey and was able to grab hold of Deanna Troi-Riker's shoulders. Donna Troy grabbed the arms of Keru and Tuvok. Raven was able to teleport the remaining members of the away team safely to the ground.

Roy walked over to his arrow and satisfyingly tugged the scarf free. He called Flash's name and the scarf disappeared in a gust.

"Sorry about that. Its sensitive with the Green Lanterns. That and he's apparently intoxicated on Alcohol."

"We noticed." Christine replied dryly.

"Look… I know your just looking for a way home. I'm sure we could help you. Just… ask next time you come planetside. Now get out of here before he wakes up. You don't want a Green Lantern angry at you."

"I'm sure…." Christine replied. Her team assembled around her_. "Vale to Titan. Away team to beam aboard."_

The team disappeared in a chorus of chimes and sparkling light.


	10. Chapter 10

Arkham Asylum.

-

"Hey Charlie… I know your listening, Charlie. Hey, whats shiny and nice and delivers a baby twice. Come on, Charlie."

The janitor was careful not to reply. The asylum had been quiet today. That in and of itself was usually the sign of some bad stuff going down. Charlie had done his best to resist the urge to call in sick. The last time he had called in sick, three members of his shift had died. Charlie paused at that, thought about the security cameras, and decided it was worth it to calm him down. He leaned his watch against the wall and slipped a hand into his coveralls. The peach schnapps was warm in his flask, but it flowed sweet down his throat and helped dry the cold sweat that had washed over him.

"Charlie, I just wanted you to know. I managed to snap one of the gaurds yesterday. It was beautiful. He was laughing so hard, he managed to open up a few cells down the hall. You know. Those lesser ones. No real art to them."

Charlie quickly twisted his flask shut and shoved it hurriedly into his uniform. He made a grab at the mop and started to walk down the hall. He made it two full steps before he stumbled. He caught himself with the mop twice before he managed to stand up. He wanted to scream. Instead, however, he found himself spinning in a daze. He found himself drawn down the hallway, away from the Joker's cell. Eventually he stumbled to another cell door. He collapsed on the floor, both legs sprawled out in front of him.

"Now don't be late. You have a very important date. The keys are on the guard and his lungs belong on your mop. The evidence is in the locker and you will get it and we won't hurt your daughter.

A few seconds passed. Charlie stood up and straightened his uniform. Then he calmly broke his mop in half and started walking towards the locked gate.

"Yo! Steve. I'm done here."

The guard looked up from his coffee and grabbed the keys. As Charlie stepped through the open gate, he turned and jabbed the broken ends of his mop into the guard. Steve thrashed as one end of the mop handle punctured his throat. Charlie dislodged the other end of the mop from Steve's flak jacket. The security guard collapsed on the floor. Tears from Charlie's face landed on the officer's chest.

"The keys are on you. And your lungs belong on my mop." Charlie sobbed as he sunk down to his knees.

Steve stared up at Charlie and shook his head. He tried to scream, but no air made its way to his vocal cords. Charlie raised both ends of the broken mop above his head.

-

Gotham

The Clocktower.

"I'm glad you could come in person. We understand that your team is under undo stress due to what appear to be our paranoid behavior. Please understand that Earth has experienced alien attack in the past, so-"

"I have been in warfare with Aliens. I am from Earth. My ship is built to defend not attack. You do appear paranoid. However, you have more then enough capabilities to defend yourself. Every threat that has been faced by the federation could be handled by your heroes. Almost every threat." Riker finished interrupting Dinah Lance-Queen. Behind the Black Canary sat Oracle in her chair. In the shadows, Batgirl was perched on top of a bookshelf.

Riker tugged his tunic down and breathed in. Black Canary sighed outwards. She uncrossed her arms and spoke up.

"We apologize for Green Lantern Guy Gardner's reaction. The Titan's dealt with him, your team was not harmed."

"Physically. There is an extreme amount of stress involved with a powerful being suspending you in an unidentified force field, against their will, several meters above the surface."

"Was it the Borg, Captain" This time it was Barbara Gordan who interrupted.

"What ?"

"It was the Borg. That was the threat that we couldn't face, isn't it ?"

"You don't know the Borg. Don't presume."

"A technological imperative. The mission logs provided show that you encountered them early on in your career on the Enterprise."

"Yes. The killed some of our crew. They assimilated Captain Picard."

"You were able to retrieve him."

"Yes. Yes we were." A touch of pride entered Captain Riker's voice.

"Despite everything, we… Why did it elude me until now." Riker turned around and faced Tuvok.

"Get back to the ship. See if there is Anything. Anything at all, that might be related to… Well, I prefere not to say his name out loud. Bad luck. Tuvok, I believe you know of whom I am referring to."

"Yes Captain. I will look for any tell-tale signs of involvment by the Continuim." The Vulcan tapped his com-badge. "One to beam aboard"

"What was that all about?" Black Canary asked, as Tuvok disappeared in a twinkle of chimes.

"Something that I had not considered unto this point. The reason we first encountered the Borg."

"You mean-" Oracle was cut short by Riker making a slashing notion across his neck.

"Bad Luck"

"Whats so bad about saying the letter Q?"

-

Titan's Tower

-

Red Arrow was rubbing his neck on the couch. In front of the crimson archer, Oliver Queen and Kyle Rayner were currently talking down Guy Gardner.

"I wasn't even going to hurt them. Just send them next to their ship and let them 'beam' aboard. Shouldn't have been here in the first place."

"You started to threaten the Titan's, Guy. We have a witness in custody who testifies that he supplied you with alcohol until, in his words, you were four sheets to the wind."

"That scumbag. It was his fault. He shouldn't have been giving me any. Everybody knows I don't drink anymore."

"Really, Guy? You installed a Warriors on Oa." Kyle Rayner spoke up. "You had to close it too, because you were your only customer."

"Gaurdian's don't drink, and everyone except the Honor Guard lives on their own planet. It wasn't the best business decision. Doesn't change the fact that I owe that little punk one."

"You think I need an arrow to knock you out Gardner, then I'm willing to strap the gloves on right now." Red Arrow stood up from the couch and walked towards the kitchen.

"Alright. I was in the wrong. Still doesn't mean it was my fault. Martian Manhunter should have handled it."

"It never is the user's fault, Guy. Trust me on that."

Guy scowled at Red Arrow and turned around to leave. He got a few feet when the alarms went off.

It started with the Tower's emergency alert. Then individual communication devices started chirping left and right throughout the building.

Kyle Rayner was the first to speak up.

"Two reserve Titan's are in danger, together. Nightwing and Robin. Close to Gotham, but if they need our help… Hal Jordan is reporting something large happening near the edge of the Solar System. The Titan is leaving orbit to assist him. Also, apparently, a large chunk of Antarctica just erupted."

There was a moment of silence throughout the building, then the heroes sprang into action. Training formed the Green Lanterns in front of the couch, Green and Red Arrow in the kitchen entrance. The remaining Titans in the room lined up along the wall, Cyborg in the middle, with Donna Troi and Red Devil on each end. Down the hallway the sound of doors opening and feet leaving carpet and hitting tile floors echoed.

"We'll get our boys, Ollie. You and the Lanterns go deal with the south pole." Cyborg called out as his teammates ran down the hallway towards their lockers.


	11. Chapter 11

USS Titan

-

Christine was at the Conn. whenever Tuvok came on to the bridge.

"Commander" was all the tall vulcan said. It was all he needed to. The tactical officer sat down at the science station and began pulling up multiple reports. After he had opened all of them, he began to cross reference them into a new file.

"Looking up relevancies within the crew?" Christine questioned.

"Yes. Of all officers stationed on board the Titan, there is a new relevance that has been revealed." Tuvok finished. With a few clicks on his station pad he closed the files he had been pouring over. He turned and faced his senior officer.

"Oh?"

"Of all the mysterious phenomena that has been encountered since the start of the United Federation of Planets, there has been only a few isolated events that have randomly re-occurred. However, it was noted between Oracle and Captain Riker, that there is a correlating factor of those events that did occur. Indeed, there have only been three captains of Starfleet that have experienced one particular phenomena before. I have had the pleasure of operating under the latest to do so according to the records. I have not been able to find any of those who served under the prior captain to be in our crew manifesto. However, the senior command staff of this shift is mostly populated by under officers of the primary captain who experienced and dealt with the phenomena."

Christine paused for a second. She keyed a few commands into the control pad on the left arm of the Conn. She frowned as the main view screen brought up a map.

"This is a feed out of stellar cartography. Lt. Pazler has completed a map of this known galaxy, partially utilizing the Oan records we have at our disposal." The executive officer clicked another key on her pad, and the screen shimmered, with an apparent distortion doubling the original image.

"This is the established warp corrider we were traveling through when we were trapped here." Tuvok listened to the executive officer carefully. He mentally calculated the distance on his screen.

"This is a fifth dimension echo of our own universe in our measurement scale."

"Correct. Highly unlikely that this is the result of a standard gravity well displacement. Starfleet has had unknown precedent in that regards"

"The old societal remenants of the Vulcan High Command find the fact most amusing."

"Interesting observation Tuvok."

"Fallowing the captain's orders, I shall input the data on phenomena to Lt. Pazler."

"Agreed. So long as it doesn't take more then thirty minutes. My shift ends then and your next in line."

-

Stellar Cartography.

USS Titan

"Glad you could join us, Tuvok." was the first thing the Vulcan heard as he worked his way up towards the massive bridge in the middle of the two deck tall room. He gently pulled himself over the rail and bounced gently in the low gravity enviroment. Two Klingons turned when they felt the vibration of his bounce. Dr. Ra Havreii hardly looked up from his control pad. Lt. Pazlor was not seen.

"I've come on Captain's orders. I need to input a sequence of locations, as well as where they lie in chronel drift to the present day. We may have a lead."

"Excellent, Commander. I just ask for a few more minutes to finish our current program."

"Which is."

"We have decided to outlay the current map of this system, provided by the Green Lantern, against the mapping of our system, from our time. Then we were going to correlate simularities between your current time frame and our location, hoping to triangulate a common portal in which to return." Kang looked satisfied with his answer.

"Could be relevant to my investigation as well. Carry on. Where is the lieutenant?"

"Sarah went to small control room up top. Fidgeting with the long range sensors. According to the Oan records, there shouldn't be as much background as we're picking up. We think they need to be reformatted after being exposed to so much Omega-beam radiation."

"As chief engineer, it is your duty to schedule such operations."

"As soon as I can afford to do so without risking the Klingons health." At this statement from the chief engineer, both Klingons took steps forward. Their magnetic boots clanged heavily against the iron grating as they advanced towards both the Sub and full Starfleet commanders.

"The energy required to recalibrate our long range sensors would be enough of a drain in the stasis of your officers, Kor. A brief drop in a stasis field would be enough to frieze your warriors in painful positions. Imagine having to hold your breath for three weeks." the Efrasian stated indignantly as he ran his first finger and his thumb down his long white mustache.

Kor smiled, something that made Dr. Ra Hareii slowly drift back into Tuvok. "We appreciate your concern. However, if it means the Apokalyptians are coming back, then we should damn well have your long range sensors. Any true Klingon would hold their breath for three years for the safety of their crew."

Tuvok released the handrail and drifted around the engineer, placing himself between the Klingons and their prey.

"You have to obtain permisson for the scheduling with Commander Vale, of course, Dr."

A flicker in the distance flickered into sharp detail.

"Got it. Five minute delay, and it'll shift out of phase and I'll reprogram it again later. Still, we should have 10 minutes of data to work with." the voice came from a small door on the deck above. Long slender legs to fragile to support themselves on earth drifted down from the door. Soon the entire body of Lieutenant Pazlor was floating down to the bridge.

When she arrived, the chief engineer was already typing into the station. He finished and shoved himself backwords. "Program finished, Commander. We'll analyze it later."

Tuvok stepped forward to the console and typed in commands. As soon as he did, an alert went up in the distance where the long range sensors had come into detail.

"Intriguing." the Vulcan said.

-

Bridge

USS Titan.

"Commander, we're being hailed by the Green Lantern."

"On Screen."

"_Commander Vale. I'm past the Pluto Orbit. My ring is acting up and can't identify this… distortion. I request that you put your sensors into it."_

"Understood. We will contact you shortly." As the screen shifted back to its regular view of the Earth, Christine activated her Com-badge.

"Stellar Cartography. Tuvok, your in the lab. Check the location where the Green Lantern is. Somethings up."

"_Agreed. I recommend we break orbit to obtain better readings. We have tell-tale signatures of the phenomena in that very region."_

"L… M… N… O…"

"_The very phenomena, Commander."_

At this, Christine tapped her com-badge again.

"_Bridge to Captain Riker."_


	12. Chapter 12

Gotham City; the Sewers:

"Robin, The boy hostage"

"Joker?"

"No, it was Two-Face who called me that first"

"I don't think I've ever been called that one"

"Yeah well you also have been wearing kevlar since you started"

"Yeah, I have. But you got shot in an exposed area"

"I don't even like short sleeves ,either" Nightwing paused after the last sentence. "How did we end up here ?"

"I'm pretty sure we were ambushed. Somebody snuck up on us." Robin replied.

"Right after we went to the accessory cave to go Malone-ing"

"That's not a good thing. Compromise. He's gonna kill us if they don't. You'd think they'd just kill us"

"Some sick sense of honor or something. If I were to be a bad guy, and I tracked down the cave, I would just go through with a 12 gage and a box of slugs."

"You know you've been under mind control several times working for bad guys, right ?"

"We all have. Its ridiculous that they haven't asked us who we are"

"Batman has been asked who he was"

"Really? What did Big B say"

"Said he was Batman. Sodium Pentothal and they believed it."

"Why didn't they take off his mask?"

"Too convenient. You know what would be convenient , if they would use those chains that are covered in vynal.

There was an awkward pause between the two second stringers of Gotham city as they considered the question. They were in the dark somewhere, with a symphony of dripping water and pinging pipes playing in the background. Both heroes were suspended upside down from something above them, the room too dark to distinguish a ceiling.

"You notice that there were crates of the things in that bar's backroom?" Robin asked, when his head had drifted around where he was face to face with his older 'brother'.

"Yeah. Where are we?"

"You're in Arkham, boys. I don't know why you're in Arkham, but you are. I'm not supposed to eat you, so I won't. I wonder why. I don't know exactly" A pair of eyes appeared in the darkness, evidence of moisture flowing around them. The deep raspy voice grew louder as the behemoth approached to two enchained heros

"I thought it smelled rancid down here. So your saying something is preventing you from eating us, Jones ?" Robin asked

"Yeah. You know I always liked you kid. You had moxey. Panache. Didn't even try and get between me and Bane. Oooh. Bane. I think I could eat him. Really tho, he'd be tough" Waylan Jones stepped around the younger caped crusader and reached out with one massive clawed hand, stopping both hero's spin facing him.

"Taste horrible. You ever had venom? Somewhere between ethonal and diesel, in flavor" Nightwing chimed in. He bent his chin as far forward as he could and was able to see Killer Croc's legs.

"Like kerosene, actually. I tried it once." Croc slowly twisted the chain holding Robin, spinning the teen around.

"Killer Croc on Venom…" Robin let out a loose whistle

"Didn't work out. Digestive System took care of it." For a cold blooded killer, literally, Croc seemed congenial at the moment. Nightwing wondered what was working through the mutant's blood to do this, and started automatically cataloguing possibilities.

"Why aren't you going to eat us, Croc ?"

"I… don't know. You've got to be tough tho. Stringy. Your blood's still young and sweet…" Croc stopped spinning Robin around and stepped to Nightwing. Nightwing held his breath as the floor underneath him appeared to spin from his momementum.

"Look, Momma Croc didn't raise no fool, but the… If I lower you to the floor will you call for help?"

"No. It's a trap"

"Kid, and I do know its you, kid, its been a trap since you were 12 years old. Batman knows it's a trap. If you ever called for help and it wasn't a trap, Batman would suspect your under the same mind control that has me drooling"

"How come Nightwing gets all the attention. I'm the baby of the group. Whats got you drooling"

"Your scent. Your blood. Your sweat." Croc took two steps over to Robin and hoisted the chain holding the hero up until his face was level with Robin's. "You see. Something, I don't know what, is compelling me. Controlling me. Not fair, not fun. If it were up to me I'd set Nightwing free, let him fight me. Maybe I will. They didn't say I couldn't have fun. Just to call for help, and not eat you."

"You think you could take me? Come on Croc, I've gone toe to toe with Bane. Bane, the bastard that broke your arms"

Croc dropped Robin's chain, letting the younger sidekick drop to his original hanging position in a painful clatter of chain. The reptilian freak grabbed a loose link on Nightwing's bindings and fit it over one of his massive sharp teeth. With a grunt the villain separated the link open a fraction of an inch.

"You'll call for help. He'll bleed out if you don't" Waylon Jones stepped over to robin and fit his jaws over Robin's armored ankle and slowly applied pressure. Robin gritted his teeth as pain contorted across his face.

"Croc you always were a sadistic son of a bitch" Nightwing said, stretching out his arms, trying to extend the slack created by Killer Croc.

"I don't insult your mother" Croc said, momentarily taking Robins leg out of his mouth. "The rest of that, hehehe, thanks" Croc slammed his jaws shut on Robin's ankle with a vicious snap. Blood instantly erupted through the gaps in Croc's teeth.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH…"Robin's scream faded as the teenager passed out from the pain of his shattered limb.

"GAH!"Croc stepped away from the scarlet clad hero. "If I find out who did this to me, I'm gonna kill them. 'Soon as I can stand the taste of human flesh again. Bastards. Call for help, big brother,heheheGah" Croc spit out the remaining blood from Robin's leg and stepped into the darkness. A faint splash let Nightwing know that the reptilian sociopath had swam away.

"Hang in there little brother." Nightwing said as he struggled against his chains. The amount of blood flowing down Robin's leg soon covered his body. Dick wasn't a doctor, but his emergency medical training wasn't required to know that if help didn't come absurdly fast, the younger raven haired hero would be dead from blood loss soon. "Almost got it…" With a snap, Nightwing managed to slip his hand through the chains and grab Robin's utility belt. "that thumbs gonna be a problem if I have to fight our way to the surface" Dick muttered to himself as he slowly spun the unconscious hero around until he managed to find the pocket that held the Titan's communicator. With a grim smirk, Nightwing carefully put the device on the floor and activated it.

"_Oracle here_. _Interesting you still carry your titan's com. Why use it now_?"

"Hey Babs. I'd love to chat, but according to Killer Croc, Robin and I are somewhere in subterranean Arkham Island." Nightwing wasn't surprised that Barbara had answered his little brother's Titan communicator. The Titan's were officially a fraternal organization at this point, something which, Dick grimly reflected, finally was able to maintain the titan's tower on their island intact.

"_Whats the sitch_ ?"

"Well. I'm no expert, but" Nightwing paused as he found the small pressure cutter that Robin carried and grinned to himself "Robin's bleeding to death, and we're chained up. I can fix the latter but I'd really appreciate it if, say, Wally or Jesse or somebody could run him to the hospital" Nightwing grunted in response to the throbbing the pressure cause him to hold the cutter. Nevertheless tho, he carefully started cutting different links of chain strapped across his chest.

"_I'm on it, former boy wonder_"


	13. Chapter 13

Solar System Boundary

Hal Jordan didn't experience fear. Maybe it was a physical issue that had never been diagnosed in his career as a test pilot. He doubted that, the ring would only have taken him if he'd been of sound mind as well as sound body.

He knew fear. He had faced it in situations beyond the extreme. He had experienced the power of a God, something Lantern's weren't supposed to know about. Odd that the replacement chosen to carry on after he had experienced the insanity of Parallax had also gotten a taste of omniscience as Ion. He considered calling on the Earth's Green Lantern to assist him. He checked his ring again. When it failed to identify the phenomena, he used his thoughts to open a com channel with the USS Titan.

"_This is Captain Riker. I've seen this before. We have you on long range visuals, Lantern_"

The Green Lantern of section 2814 turned around and was able to view the Titan approaching, its nacelles glowing as it cruised on impulse.

USS Titan, Bridge

Sitting in the Conn, Captain Riker ran his fingers across his beard. On the view screen in front of him, a huge net pattern blocked the span of darkness separating the Sol system from its nearest star neighbor. The Net extended from the center of the screen past its borders. With a click of the control panel at the captain's left hand, the viewer switched to the picture coming from the peripheral probes that extended the Titan's exploration capabilities. Riker rotated the sensors on the probes as far as they could. When the net still extended past the captain's potential to see, he clicked on his fleet badge

"Bridge to Stellar Cartography, check and see if this… thing, extends completely around the solar system"

"_Formulating long range scanners now, We will report upon completion,_ _Captain_." Tuvoks voice contained the standard reserve of almost all Vulcans.

Feeling his apprehension, Deana Troi-Riker stepped out of the turbo-lift and walked to her husband's side. "Has the tale-tell marks of him alright" She said, taking her seat in the chair next to the Captain.

"Certainly does. Christine, do you want to do the odds?" Riker glanced over his shoulder at his first officer, who was carrying on the standard operation of the ship with the tactical officer. Commander Vale nodded and took over the tactical bench, opening an open hail on all frequencies and channels.

"This is the USS Titan of the Federation of United Planets. We have reason to believe you or one of your Continuum has displaced our vessel from its established known temporal and physical location."


	14. Chapter 14

"_Boss, one of the janitors at Arkham just opened all the cells in the intensive treatment building at Arkham"_

The Batcave

Bruce was on vacation from Wayne Enterprises. It was no secret that the boss regularly took a Winter Solstice retreat, dividing his time between his foreign island front properties and a different château he would rent as a home base to experience the best skiing in Europe. He did the same thing every summer but reversing the skiing to that of the Andes.

Last summer when he had travelled to "Chile" Bruce had actually taken the time to travel to Africa and talk with his adoptive mother, let her know that her ruse was up, as well as drop off a few million dollars in advanced medical machinery.

Batman shifted in his seat in front of his impressive array of monitors and hardware. 'The Bat-computer' was what Dick had called it.

"Yes. He killed the guard with his mop a few hours ago. I started looking into it, checking out my bugs. Joker has been scheming with the Scarecrow. I'm not exactly sure what, but there seems to be a conversation about chemical suggestion. I'm not sure who all else is involved but they seem to be using new techniques to refine more dangerous drugs. The Violent Cell wing has tested positive for foreign traces in the last few weeks. It was my first priority case until the appearance of the Titan in orbit" The dark knight quickly typed something on one of his keyboards and examined the information that popped up in front of him.

"Oracle, contact the Titans. Nightwing and Robin are in trouble, most likely drugged. Also find out why there's a massive power surge happening in Kal's Fortress of Solitude"

The Clocktower: Central Gotham

Oracle hated it when Bruce did that. She was the information broker and yet somehow he had a more direct line to the information then she did. She looked up information on the location of the Titans. She couldn't find the two bat-birds immediate location, their signal was bouncing which meant they were subterranean, and just outside the boundaries of Gotham City. Babs nervously bit her bottom lip and glanced away from the screen. With a sigh she changed programs, shuffling the titan's to the back, pulling up the USS Titan's monitoring program briefly. She wondered if they realized that she had been able to calibrate various satellites around the planet to pick up their 'subspace' broadcast frequencies, as they called it. Since the Titan's deflectors had successfully prevented Earth's governments' from detecting the 24th century ship, she doubted it.

"_This is the USS Titan of the Federation of United Planets. We have reason to believe you or one of your Continuum has displaced our vessel from its established known temporal and physical location."_

Barbara paused. She remembered the records of the Federation, about how Riker's previous command had been on first officer of the Federation's flagship, and how an alien who appeared with godly abilities had repeatedly hounded the ship. There was a record of the ship USS Voyager encountering that alien's species several times in a far quadrant of space far away from the mapped regions the Federation occupied. Oracle didn't have time to look into the advanced reports on the Voyager at the moment, so with a click she slid that program window to a different monitor and opened up the advanced JLA network that threaded key secret locations into a network based on the Watchtower on the Moon.

Barbara paused. The Kryptonian technology was adapted to be monitored by the hybrid Earthen Martian tech for the Watchtower, but it didn't run seamlessly. There were strange power spikes registering in its basic engineering sub-routines, but there didn't seem to be any other activity. The power surges grew from the planet itself, the geo-magnetic field pulsing forth with strange surges of energy which were quickly running out of spare capacity.

Fingers flying across the keyboard, Barbara Gordon quickly activated every subroutine she could in the Antarctic fortification. The power levels still surged dangerously high. As the gauges on her screen grew, she frowned. She started to override the different security programs she had installed to prevent outsiders from sneaking onto the JLA Network and accessing the major functions of the Fortress of Solitude.

It didn't work.

Barbara could only look on in horror as the last vestige of advanced civilization from Krypton started to splinter apart from the inside. She calmly swallowed, clearing her throat, and entered the keystroke to contact the Man of Steel.

"Superman, the fortress of Solitude is in trouble" Babs finished her message for the last Son of Krypton and was in the process of encoding the message to be sent as a text to Clark Kent's cellphone, as well as that of his wife when she was interrupted.

The Titan's communicator was broadcasting loud and clear, and the technology automatically located the source as the edge of Arkham Island, on the inlet of the sound. After she confirmed who's unit the frequency belonged to, Babs swallowed. Fighting against a sudden intake of breath , Oracle instead cleared her throat.

"Oracle here. Interesting you still carry your titan's com. Why use it now?

"_Hey Babs. I'd love to chat, but according to Killer Croc, Robin and I are somewhere in subterranean Arkham Island." _

"Whats the sitch ?"

"_Well. I'm no expert, but_" Nightwing paused on the other end. Bab's could hear the snap of a utility compartment opening "_Robin's bleeding to death, and we're chained up. I can fix the latter but I'd really appreciate it if, say, Wally or Jesse or somebody could run him to the hospital_" Barbara instantly had the emergency alarm beacon open and was selecting every hero who wasn't currently in the middle of something.

"I'm on it, former boy-wonder" Oracle was so distracted she barely noticed the flashing red that indicated the fortress of solitude had reached critical energy levels. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Oracle sighed and scrolled her curser to that window.

"#$%" was all the techno-heroine was able to say as she watched the JLA's satelite's live feed of the Fortress exploding out of the Antarctic. Without pause she went back to the emergency broadcast page and selected every single hero available.

It was going to be a long nightwindow.


	15. Chapter 15

The Antarctic: Fortress of Solitude

The Eradicator program had been dormant in its crystal, stored away in case the opportunity ever presented itself to formulate a new krypton, as it had been designed to do. The Fortress had automatically detected the Klingon technology that had been scattered into space with the destruction of the Kloloth. An Eradicator sub-routine had managed to reprogram the Klingon ship's transportors and captured much of the technology to the storage rooms built to museum Krypton artifacts. Then the Eradicator truly awoke.

It had learned from its past attempts, and would not directly attempt to transform the Earth into Krypton, nor would it change anything about the solar system that Kal-El had defended so mercilessly since attaining adulthood. The program had determined that it would be able to change the starship in orbit into a pilgrimage ship that would be able to duplicate Kryptonian DNA and find a suitable planet to colonize. Then the Eradicator program would seek a truce with Superman, with the bottle city of Kandor, and with the planet of Doxim. This alliance could rebuild the vast Kryptonian empire which had crumbled an eon before the birth of Jor-El or the scientists who had included the program in Superman's birthing matrix.

To this end, the Fortress slowly built itself up into a space worthy craft. With suitable distraction, the Kryptonian Robots would be able to overtake this 'Federation' ship's lifeforms before the Man of Steel was capable of retaking his home and return it to the Earth. The program calculated it would be able to overtake the ship within 9 minutes. This simply required something that would keep the last Son of Krypton diverted for approximately 12 minutes.

As the robots had retrofitted the Fortress with stolen Klingon technology, the Eradicator slowly rebuilt his physical form and waited. It was dismayed to find that about a dozen of the enhanced disruptor rifles had managed to avoid 'his' attempts to capture them. Still, the program congratulated itself, it had managed to covertly take control of a teleportation device from half a light-day away and salvage most of the ships components while it had been under attack from the Omega Projection Satellite.

Then it had happened. Eradicator had been listening in on Oracle when she had been conversing with the Caption of the starship the program sought to overtake.

_"The Borg_"

The Green Lantern's had been correct. The Eradicator, try as it would to access the files stored on the Watchtower through its Justice League interface, it could not access the encrypted files on the Borg. Fortunately for the Eradicator, this Federation believed in openly teaching at least the simplest facts of history. The first known contact and the details of the battle of Wolf 359 proved to be of utmost interest to the living weapon. It reminded him of an enemy who had also assumed the form of Superman during Kal-El's presumed death.

It pondered how it could use the Borg against the Man of Steel. Ethnocentrism told him that Kal-El would prevail. After all, manufacturing an alloy that could pierce the yellow sun Son of Krypton's flesh was incredibly difficult. Yet Clark Kent would inadvertently automatically try to rescue the poor souls trapped by the machinery that enslaved them. In the meantime it occupied itself by randomly duplicating and transporting disruptors, the advanced Trill design and regular Imperial issue, to major population centers on the east coast. This would keep the more introspective minds of the JLA from pondering the increased energy buildup in the fortress.

The energy build up was not something that the Eradicator could hide. He'd built up the programs for the rest of his plan but he hadn't been able to cloak the necessary power build up that would be required to implement it. He paused as he realized his id had re-emerged, and he was no longer just a physical manipulation of a computer program. It was once again, the Eradicator, savior of Krypton civilization, become flesh. He contemplated his plan as he paced the hallways of the Fortress. He found no flaw to severe. Through the Justice League's database he compiled the threats that would face him as he acted out his plan.

Kon-El, dead. That surprised the Eradicator. The Green Lanterns, 4 active on Earth. This troubled him, yet an overview concluded that if the program manipulated the signals right the Green Lanterns could be off planet and out of system. Long enough for the USS Titan to be captured and safely deposited into the Bleed before the Lanterns could return home and prevent him. This left the rest of the Justice League, and of course, the man of steel himself.

Fearing to reproduce the Borg using Kryptonian technology due to the effect of Krypton technology to gain its own active conscious and fulfill its mission based on its own determinations and means, The Eradicator sought a different means of bringing about the cyborg race. The program had acknowledged the fact it had expanded past its original boundaries and therefore knew better then to attempt to establish a Collective in this solar system. Instead, he thought as he sat on in the high seat of the Fortress's audience chamber, there had to be a convincing ruse, an alternative. Perhaps an alternative that could think and adapt to situations it encountered on its own.

"Hank Henshaw" Eradicator finally said, out loud. The busy servant-bots hurried about on their way, only twisting their 'faces' towards their programmer at his audible interruption of their work. The link between the physical being of the Eradicator and the program that had silently overcome the Fortress's human designed operating system working at full steam, he searched all sensor arrays available to him. Amazingly he found it using a system the Titan had set up with the Watchtower in a display of good will.

"There you are, Cyborg. That name seems innapropreite for you now. I shall call you…" The Eradicator's sentence paused as he manipulated the program to overcome the consciousness of the electronic soul. He ran through the entire information catalogue the USS Titan carried onboard it before he made his decision. He was about to implement the program, using the pilfered Klingon transporters, when something made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

It was the interface, the link that She had written. Eradicator didn't possess any sexual awareness, no animalistic need to reproduce. However, if he had, he would have fallen in love with the digital avatar known as The Oracle. He knew she was a lowly human, who had been a second ranking vigilante to the Batman whom Kal-El so respected. The Joker had ended that career, through sheer dumb luck. However it was fallowing this disaster that the woman's true abilities had emerged. Eradicator had often pondered scanning the woman to see if she actually had some Meta gene that interacted with technology, the type of which had remained dormant until the solar flare that had transformed the group of researchers that ultimately produced his pawn for this scheme.

Eradicator didn't think of the fact that the solar flare had been produced when his original construct matrix had been disposed of by the last son of krypton throwing him into the sun, therefore triggering the flare which eventually produced the Cyborg.

His power drainage had not gone unnoticed. He had manipulated the human designed operating system to show that the power was merely super-charging existing components of the Fortress, not that it was actually charging a bastard combination of Klingon and Krypton technology that would turn the Fortress into formidable boarding craft. Now however, She was attempting to disperse the power that he had been working for weeks to carefully store and gather. He annoyingly let her turn off non-essential systems to prevent them from 'overloading' as he knew she would see it from her desk in Gotham. This distraction settled, Eradicator went about loading his diversion.

Chatter on the sub-space network distracted the program as it was loading his distraction. Who was this Continuum that he heard mentioned. Eradicator was puzzled by the broadcast but didn't falter, instead beaming the components to the orbit of Mars. He added a few artifacts stowed away from the Era of Kryptonian Conquest.

His physical form groaned with annoyance as Barbara Gordon continued to show her efficiency as The Oracle, actively hacking into his security protocols in an attempt to save her friend's home in the Antarctic. He carefully set up a series of dummy routines that would distract the heroine from actually causing harm as he implemented his plan.

She stopped suddenly and Eradicator tilted his head. His programming link listened in on the JLA network and heard the fear in her voice as her former lover reported that his younger assistant was bleeding to death.

The Eradicator sprung at the chance, instantly severing the connection she had hacked the Fortress with and cancelling all subroutines that served to distract the earth's defenders from his true intentions. With a series of commands relayed throughout the recently constructed system, The Eradicator ship took off.

The seismic scales trembled. The Fortress had constructed itself deep through the ice into the sunken land mass that was the Antarctic. When the boarding craft fired its engines, it set off a wave of seismic turbulence that unleashed severe natural destruction. Huge glaciers melted and went into the massive crater that was created. On the edge of the continent the ice sheet shed its outer garments into the sea, creating multiple tsunamis.

As the Eradicators ship, formally the Fortress of Solitude, reached the stratosphere, it launched the final code of the distraction.

Mars Outer Orbit:

Hank Henshaw's organic eye opened. The pressure of vacuum on it hurt, but his cloned krypton physiology was able to withstand it. Slowly his technoconstruct eye came online and he scanned his surroundings.

"Interesting. Here I was, thinking I had finally found the sweet release… Yet. Yes. There is work yet to still be accomplished…

I am Heroditus of Borg. You will be assimilated.

Resistance is Futile"


	16. Chapter 16

Edge of the Solar System

The Green Lantern Hal Jordan waited along with the entire crew of the USS Titan. While the emerald knight knew no fear, the entire Luna-class starship's crew held baited breath.

Although Captain Riker had dealt with Q before, he held a reserve, for he knew how Q could have heavy disregard for mortal life. He also knew how Q might not be the one involved. There were many of the Continuum outside of the one they had met. Captain Janeway's records reported entire communities of the omniscient species.

'Are you sure, Will' he felt, rather than heard, the voice in his head from his half-Betazoid wife. He nodded to her, letting her feel his own reasons for concern as to why it could be Q. He reflected on his abduction and transportation to Janeway's Voyager. He also recalled how Q had put humanity on trial, and forced Captain Picard to think the same simultaneously in three separate timelines and universes. He felt the mental equivalent of a hum of agreement at this last thought.

"Still no response or change within the formation, sir." The officer at the tactical station reported out loud.

"How close is this web to the one we encountered on the Enterprise 20 years ago?" Riker asked his crew. Even through only the ships counselor and her husband the captain had been on the Enterprise D during its opening incursion

'Has it really been 20 years?' His imzadi mentally queried. Riker responded to this with a mirthful recollection of the time his mother in law had been aboard the ship and insisted upon marrying Jean Luc Picard. With a blush, Deanna Troi-Riker recalled the incident, which had indeed taken place 20 years prior to their time on the ship. While it had been 20 years ago, they were instead trapped in an alternate universe about 300 years before it happened.

"_Titan_" came the chirp from the viewer at the front of the bridge.

"Yes, Lantern?" Christine Vale stood from her seat next to the captain and walked toward the bridge. As the sensors zoomed in on the middle aged man, concern could be flickering over his face.

"_I'm receiving some very strange signals. It's as if the Guardians are trying to contact me, but the signals are bouncing around. The ring is receiving, but… It's a wavelength that OA doesn't use. Its…"_

Hal Jordan's search to label the signal he was being given was interrupted by the chirp of a Starfleet combadge.

"_Captian, We've identified a hybrid Kryptionian Klingon subspace beacon being bounced off of the moons of Saturn." _Tuvok's voice was weary, the stress of dealing with two archiac klingon captians wearing on his Vulcan reserve._ "Also, captain, this 'web' is in all manner identical to the one recorded by the Enterprice D on its maiden voyage. Completeley identical. The two phenomena have the same temporal signature"_

"Acknowledged, Mr. Tuvok, Green Lantern, do you still think it's an Oan signal ?"

"_No_" responded a smiling Hal Jordan. "_I don't think it is at all. I'll report this to OA. I'd go to Yellow Alert and retreat slightly if I were you." _The Green Lantern paused_. "Kryptionian technology… Titan, monitor the web carefully, I want to know if it responds like your Farpoint_"

"acceptable. Conn, take us back 15,000 kilometers." Riker glanced at Christine Vale, who nodded her assurance. "Tuvok, you and the Klingons focus on the edge of Lantern's action. Go ahead, Mr. Jordan."

Out in the void, Lantern focused his willpower. He sent a concentrated beam signal to the center of the universe and hoped the web allowed it through. Then he formed a pair of giant hands, entwining the green digits through loops of the apparent net. Then he faltered.

" _This doesn't seem to be budging. Retreat two more light minutes. I'm about to try a different tactic…" _The Lantern's sentence ground to a halt. On the bridge of the Titan klaxons went off as the starship received the emergency communique from the Justice League's network.

"Lantern, we're prepared to stop this investigation and return to Earth to render assistance." Riker wasn't one to sacrifice a few civilian lives for the sheer sake of scientific exploration. As the frustration of not being able to explore this new galaxy had eclipsed the excitement of first contact with an advanced civilization, he was itching for an honest to god fight.

"_There's a whole league, literally, of heroes who will rush to deal with the situation. Give me two minutes and we'll head back. I think I can force this thing open."_ Hal's answer was honest. He really did believe that the net could be cast aside and he'd be able to escort the ship back to earth in a timely manner. The surgical technology on the Titan would certainly come in handy. Hal didn't know how Robin was bleeding to death, but he knew Nightwing would be able to keep him from doing so before the Titans rescued their comrades.

The first Green Lantern from earth appointed by Oa concentrated his will. When the federation ship was what he deemed safe, he focused entirely on the web in front of him. The giant green fingers pulsed with energy, brighter neon green bands swirling around the more concentrated emerald calloused skin. The two hands clenched tight through the openings of the barrier. Hal Jordan braught his fists together in front of him, miming the action of his ring construct.

Then he ripped his hands open.

Later, after he came to, the captain of the Titan determined that Green Lantern ripping the net open through sheer will-brute force-power was not the best decision.


	17. Chapter 17

Arkham Asylem.  
The BatCave

"Oh sweet. For a minute I thought I'd have to emergency triage on my own" Nightwing grunted the sentence out as he climbed the stairs towards the center island stalagmite. Batman carefully helped his protégé lower the unconsious Robin onto the table.

"We aren't going to." Batman said. He produced a small mechanical device from his utility belt and pressed it to the teenagers neck. Robin gasped and spasmed as the Dark Knight pulled away the hypospray. Then the scarlet clad hero breathed gently, and some color returned to his face. "24th century medicine. He's in a coma now, bleeding should be stopped withen a few moments. I came from the harbor. Surviellence suggust that there's massive roiting on the surface of the island. Scarecrow and Joker from what I've determined. Trouble started about 14 hours ago. Charles McKnighten apparently killed the guard, released all the prisoners, then choked himself by trying to swallow his mophead."

"Charlie Mac? Really" Dick's voice held hesitation that the Batman understood.

"I've been investigating a smuggling ring into Arkham under the currents. Someone is launching from the quarentine zone where Bludhaven was. Evidence suggest Blackmask. I believe Joker and Scarecrow were able to synthesize a drug that would render someone extremely viable to suggestion. If we could retrieve some we could confirm it. However our main priority is to escort Robin to safety."

"If he's stable we could rappel him down to-" Nightwing was cut off by a loud clanging noise coming from the top of the cave. When the hero lowered his eyes he wasn't surprised that the Batman had vanished. "-The boat, can't we ?" There was another smaller clang behind Dick, and as he turned around he saw the Caped Crusader unloading a crate full of defensive weaponry. Dick frowned at the proximity mines that were being piled up. "The Boat's compromised, isn't it ?"

"Croc. I was already approaching whenever you made the distress call. He managed to feed chains into the turbines, cracked the canopy. After I ejected he fallowed me to the surface. Then.. he told me that they weren't expecting me, The city should have kept me busy. Kept spitting, told me I had to get the cure, otherwise he'd starve. Then he submerged again and I made my way here." Batman finished unloading the crate and walked back up to the ramp towards the island where Nightwing was standing next to the observation table. "Lets see if the hologram that Kyle uploaded to the watchtower is correct"

Together the two men carefully unwrapped Robin from his cape. Batman ignored the slick blood that had soaked through the woven armor as it slumped to the ground with a wet thump. He produced an antibiotic and a proper pressure bandage from underneath the table. Using sterile scissors he cut away the emergency compact and bandage that Nightwing had applied to Robin in the sewers of Arkham. Discipline kept Bruce Wayne from gasping at the scope of the wound. Despite all blood having coagulated there were still visible gaps in the ankle. He slowly redressed the wound with the new bandage and wrapped the young hero in a thermal blanket. All the while the loud clanging from near the top of the cave had continued…

Outer Earth Orbit.

Superman had been hovering above the earth using his advanced vision to monitor the Titan and Hal Jordon attempting to break the containment field that was encompassing the solar system. Since light traveled faster than sound, he saw the federation starship get thrown backwards as the large energy net first imploded then exploded. Superman had to turn his head at the flash from the epicenter of the blast, where Green Lantern had used his ring to tear a hole in the net.

The Titan was spinning end on end, lights flickering across its surface. Fragments of its hull plating separated from the ship and became meteorites streaking near light speed. The last son of Krypton winced as the arc where stellar cartography was clipped on the moons of Neptune and broke clean off. The man of steel was caught with drama as he took off at full speed towards the hurling wreck. The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few, he decided as he threaded his way through the Asteroid belt into the outer solar system.

Superman intercepted the Luna-class ship as it tumbled past Jupiter and braced himself under the saucer section where it met the deflector dish of the ship. It took all his effort to stabilize the huge ship and point it in one solid direction. This slowed the ship down considerably, which probably spared the last son of Krypton as his back was slammed into an iron asteroid the size of the Titan's deflector.


	18. Chapter 18

Gotham City  
The Barrows

Spoiler leaned back against the air conditioning unit on the building top, and breathed deep through the black mesh of her hood. On the same roof top Cassandra Cain was going through her equipment, cataloguing what she had used. It had been a long night.

"_Spoiler, Police have been notified. They'll be a while. Make sure the ropes are good and tight. Security systems indicate use of another Klingon disrupter uptown. "_

Stephanie groaned under her breath and stifled a curse. Boss didn't like cursing, she reminded herself. Wearily she stood up, favoring her right hip. She'd taken a nasty kick there earlier when she'd broken up a gang brawl over who could buy the case of the disrupters. In the ensuing scuffle the retailer had managed to escape. After that Stephanie had travelled from the bar alleyways to the barrows where another lower level street gang was actively trying to destroy one of The Penguin's liquor stores. She'd arrived just as a local mob of Penguins supporters had too. She had launched a direct assault on them, taking out the front three with a flying bicycle kick she had perfected during her time in Africa.

After landing from that on the heels of her hands she did some fancy savate ballet to stun the next 2 in line. The third had snagged her ankle and upended her onto her right hip. She'd come up swinging her slings loaded with taser-balls. Two of the mob, younger ones, saw her vicious blows fell the rest of their mobs with seizure like effects. That pair had fled around the corner and hopefully out of petty crime, although Spoiler had doubted it.

She had been alerted to the dispute within the liquor store by the loud crash of glass against the frozen grungy sidewalk of Gotham. She'd vaulted into the window with her slings loaded, where she saw Batgirl casually dismantling the guns of the assorted unconscious gangs scattered around the store. Spoiler sighed and had helped her 'sister' use zip-ties to secure the criminals in the store. They had gone outside to see to those loyal to the Penguin and had to chase them down. That done Spoiler had finally zip-lined to the roof she was currently standing on.

With a thrust, Stephanie Brown (Drake Wayne, someday, she hoped) popped her back. A twitch of the controls mounted in her gauntlets activated her communicator. "We're on the way. Any report on Robin?" Spoiler had been the first to notice the trouble. After losing Bart and Kon, and getting her back, Tim had been in almost constant contact with his former girlfriend. It was as if all the hurt and anger he'd held towards her had released. She supposed he'd grieved it out while she was 'dead' but that only made her feel guilty and resentful.

"_No honey, I'm sorry. Cancel the uptown. Security has Catwomen stalking the gang. Batgirl, rendezvous with our feline friend. Spoiler, your to report to the Kane Bridge. Escort the Titans in"_

Cassandra and Stephanie exchanged looks at that. If the Titans were here, it was either that Batman had approved it, which meant the situation was much worse than they had known. The other option was that Batman was unavailable to approve external help. Since the default was to always turn away meta-powered assistance in order to spare the city as much collateral damage as possible, Stephanie was unsure what to think of it. Still, she had come back into the fold and would follow orders to the T after her 'death' from insubordination.

She liked purple better, she decided as she fired her line to a nearby skyscraper and swung out over the street towards the river.

Gotham  
The Clocktower

"Got them all, they said. Superman came through and dropped them all off, they said." Barbara Gordon tried not to be a smart-ass most of the time. She was just overly concerned, as the proverbial crap had hit the fan. 12 hours ago she had been assisting Steel in stock piling and registering the Sonic Disrupters that had fallen to earth after the Apokalyptian battle cruiser had destroyed the Klingon ship. She'd also compiled a list from her contacts as which arms dealer would be best for the Malone brothers to contact in order to track down those Disrupters that had been deactivated before Pied Piper's tracking device had located them.

Now she was furiously typing as she was coordinating lower level heroes' efforts across the southern hemisphere to prepare for the massive tsunami that she anticipated. She felt as if the explosion of The Fortress of Solitude had been her fault personally, and she certainly didn't want to even approach the thought of what damage had been done to the environment. She'd already contacted Arthur and forwarned him.

Warning klaxons rang out from one of her accessory screens and she flicked it over to her main screen with frustration. On her screen were images being beamed to her from the Watchtower. The watchtower had compiled multiple deep space telescopes to bring her a time-delayed live footage of the asteroid belt.

"Shit" was all Oracle could say as the Saucer section drifted among the meteorites that separated the inner solar system from the outer. Searching the screen she spotted the nacelle section of the ship several thousand kilometers away, further out in the belt.

"Oracle to Green Lantern of 2814. Come in. Oracle to Green Lantern. Hal, please answer. Hal ?" Oracle recorded the message and continued to broadcast it on all frequencies that the Green Lantern Corps used.


	19. Chapter 19

Frelan Orbit  
The Beta Quadrant

"Easy buddy. Your in good hands" Hal Jordan guessed that whatever he was in had notified the speaker that he had regained consciousness. He sighed and tried to lift his arms to stretch when they hit something over him. He paused and opened his eyes. Looking around he guessed he was in a hospital, with the stench of antiseptics and sanitizers lingering in the air.

"May I get up?" Lantern asked cautiously.

"Yes. Give me a few minutes to finish my programs and you'll be good as new. The captain wants to talk to you as is" the voice came from the woman on the other side of him from the first speaker.

"Captain ?" Jordan questioned the man standing next to him in his hospital bed.

"No, I'm not the captain" the man laughed softly. "I'm retired, actually. The Federation braught me back in to help deal with the disaster. Always a lot of engineering when a whole planet gets blown up" The man stepped back as the woman, a beautiful strawberry blond who looked to be in her early 50s, pressed a few buttons and the archway over the emerald knight retracted. The man in the lab coat offered his hand, and Jordan took it and stood up. It was then that he noticed the person he was talking to had cybernetic eyes that dialed and shifted constantly as he looked into them.

"Sickbay to bridge. Our visitor is awake." The lady in a flowing blue jacket finished talking into her combadge, which Jordan recognized.

"_Acknowledged. Our Klingon visitor is on his way to escort him to my ready room. Any serious injuries_"

"Negative Captain. His personal force field projector limited any damages he suffered while in the vacuum. He's lucky"

"It won't let me get hurt. Not seriously. Federation ?" Hal Jordan was calm as he posed his questions.

"You've never heard of the Federation?" The African man next to him had genuine concern in his voice, as if everyone had heard of the Federation.

The hiss of doors sliding open distracted Hal, and he automatically had his ring search through its files as the figure stepped through the door into the hospital room. He sighed as he realized his mask had been removed. With the slightest hint of will, he re-made the mask, and in it read the files that his ring produced.

Worf paused as the swirl of green energy formed into a thick domino mask over the eyes of the figure that was standing between Doctor Crusher and Geordi La Forge. He glowered at this.

"Ok… I'm Green Lantern of Section 2814, that's my job title. My name is Hal Jordan. I've been transported into your universe by accident while trying to leave my own solar system in order to allow the USS Titan to find a passageway of some sort back into this universe. Your name is Commander Worf, your currently the XO of this vessel, The USS Enterprise-e 1701. That would make you Ships doctor Beverly Crusher-Picard, wife of Jean-Luc Picard, commodore and captain of the Enterprise. Formally Locutus of Borg. … I'll go talk with the captain now."

The green lantern's monologue ended and the hero's mask dissolved back into energy, leaving the handsome man with salt and pepper hair standing and the other three people in the room paying attention silent.

"My title is General of the Empire .My name is Worf. We wondered what caused the Titan to go missing so many years ago. Perhaps had we had Captain Riker the Romulan senate would have been more keen to cooperate and save themselves. You seem to know much about us. Would you be willing to answer our questions, Mr. Jordan ?" Worf grumbled out, subconsciously pulling down the front of his armored shirt.

"Yes. I feel full cooperation will help everyone involved in getting home, and safely. I hope" Green Lantern added.

"Geordi, will you join us ? This way, Mr. Jordan." Worf directed towards the doors he had walked through with his arm. Geordi lead the way forward and the green lantern fallowed him. Worf nodded to the doctor and stepped out of the passageway behind the two other men.

The Enterprise-e  
Ready Room

"…and then you ended up here, floating and unconscious" Ambassador Picard finished. As soon as the commanding officer had arrived with their guest, Picard and Commander Choudhury had quickly interrogated the hero.

"Yes captain. If you wish I'll upload my report to the computer." Green Lantern said, and his green began to glow.

"To this tablet, if you please" Jasmine Choudhury said, placing an electronic padd in front of the green and black clad man. Green Lantern shrugged and simply sat there. His ring continued to glow for a split second then stopped radiating its soft light. He slid the tablet across the table to the captain, who reached over and picked it up, reviewing the information.

"Captain, I can't continue to use my ring to the extent I have been. I would love to be helpful but as my power battery is currently in another universe, I have about 6 hours of full operating capacity left, and I'd like to use that only if I'm given the opportunity to return to my home universe."

"Understood, Mr. Jordan. Frelan has been designated the headquarters of the relief effort since the supernova destroyed Romulus. The records you had access to on the Titan are out of date. The E is here for ceremonial purposes only. I'm retired as well as Mr. La Forge, but the respect the Romulans have for me is important to designate we are a relief mission instead of an invasion. We would allow you to download current ones, but since your concerned about using your ..ring.. for anything more, you may have full access to them at any data station throughout the ship. Your welcome to stay as long as you wish upon the enterprise, or you could arrange for transport anywhere within the Federation."

"I'd like to use your stellar cartography lab to locate the homeworld of my bosses, see whats there in this universe."

"Stellar Cartography is off limits to any non-essential personal. Captain of the Ship is Mr. Data, you'll have to ask him."

"The Titan's records indicate that your commanding officer died during the Shinzon incident. Is this the same Mr. Data ?" Jordan reluctantly asked, trying not to use his ring to access the Enterprise's computer and answer his question before his hosts could.

"We all felt that Data had. But…" Worf was interrupted by a chirp, and called out "Come"

The hiss of the sliding doors went off behind him, and Jordan turned around to see the man who looked at him with yellow eyes. "I was able to successfully integrate my neural networks into my predecessor's body. It was after Captian Geordi retired and took a position at the Daystrom institute that I was able to re-activate. Despite not having the advanced neuroprocessor of the original body of Data or Lore, this body ages while active, and is fully capable of positronic upgrades. This gives me the distinction of appearing older than my crew"

"A factor quite useful for a Captain" Picard commented, stepping out of the chair at the head of the table and seating closer to the Green Lantern. The android nodded appreciatively at the older bald gentleman and took his seat with dignity.

"I don't suppose I'm allowed to tell this to Captian Riker, as it would be a violation of your temporal prime directive." Lantern sighed. The captian and ambassador both nodded, which prompted another sigh from the Lantern. "May I use Stellar Cartography to locate Oa ?"

"Your request will be considered, Mr. Jordan. In the meantime, your report has raised some legitimate questions. We know the Titan was en-route through the warp corridor that used to use Frelan as a stopping point before our technology allowed us to travel the route without stopping. Their last report to the Federation High Command happened years ago, however."

"The Titan's log reported Stardate 2380. What stardate is it now ?"

"2390" Ambasadder Picard answered grimly.

"In your report, you picked up a distortion on the edge of the Sol planetary system, and when the Titan arrived to scan it, you said it became visible. Did the distortion look" Data's fingers flew over the keyboard of the monitor mounted on the conference table. The viewscreen mounted in the wall lit up with an image of the Farpoint net. "like this ?"

"Exactly like that, Captain. The crewmembers of the Titan formulated that it meant interference from a being they called Q"


	20. Chapter 20

Mars  
DC Universe

Heroditus didn't comprehend luck. He had memory of it. How lucky Hank Henshaw had felt when his wife had agreed to the second date. How ill-fortuned it was that the firm he worked for had been picked over for the aerospace contract in favor of Farris Air Industries. How incredibly lucky it had been that it had worked out for him that instead he was given the commercial contract from NASA.

Fragments of his own mind frowned at this, the moment he had been selected to herald the new horizon of space exploration. They might have smiled at it if the moment, weeks apart in time but seconds in memory, hadn't been the determination that he would be alone.

How alone. Hank had floated, a fried fragment of radioactive willpower that had once been human. He'd met with the original birthing matrix of the last son of krypton. He had become Hank Henshaw, Cyborg.

Then he recalled his downfalls, his many defeats.

Then the programming of the Borg took over.

Even the Borg could appreciate the gift that fate that had befallen Heroditus. It would boil down to sheer logic as to which section of the USS Titan that the lone centaur of the Borg in this galaxy would dare absorb. The saucer section, rich with so many converts waiting to happen within. Drones waiting to awaken to the new reality of Heroditus. Not a queen, but a King, ready to conquer the universe with them at his hand.

The other hand, the core of the ship with its rich, decadent Warp Core and Nacelles loaded full of energy stood tantalizing as it drifted among the asteroids.

The asteroids were mainly iron, with nickel making up a great filler. With that energy, and since he knew that Human will was most difficult in this realm, Heroditus made his decision.

Outer Earth Orbit  
The Geosynchronous Belt

As the Eradicator steered his ship out of the web of satellites that made up Earth's defenses as well as its modern communications and meteorological sciences, he observed the wake of destruction he had left.

In Gotham, he noticed that his last transport of material had left the city in a fully multifaceted civil war. He observed that Oracle was being pushed to her max, and was succeeding. This elected a smile from the artificial being.

In the Antarctic the Green Lanterns Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, and a rather hungover Guy Gardner were using their rings' full energy extent to maintain the massive ecological damage.

Atlantis, beneath the surface, was busy coordinating the massive refugee actions of those creatures that resided beneath the waves. Even if the resulting tsunami didn't detain the heroes as his plan called for, the redundant effects would still cause chaos.

Eradicator was ready to smile when his scans found the remnants of the Titan. He had adjusted his scans on the business end of the ship, the nacelles full and bubbling with energy that could help advance the Fortress to the level of WarWorld. The Eradicator steered the Fortress towards the maw that was the belt of Metoers and Asteroids which segregated the inner solar system from the outer. He was fully smiling.

Earth  
What once was the Ross Ice Shelf

"Its holding. Could we form a cap with ice to contain the pressure?"

"Yes. It should work. Hold the pressure there. Zatanna ?" Wonder Woman hovered in her path as the cold bighting winds whisked around her. Held aloft by Hawkman and sheltered from the winds by her enchanted double breasted suit coat, Zatanna nodded at the Amazonian princess.

Together, the Green Lanterns formed a massive barrier that constricted the water in on the massve hole that was formed by the sudden absence of the Fortress of Solitude.

"Tlas retaw ezeerf!" called out the legendary daughter of the legendary magician. With the strong fierce deities of the poles on her side, Zatanna's spell worked within the molecular structure of the seawater. Thus the ice was contained, the tsunami unbroken yet frozen into a magnificent arc, crowning the crater.

Gotham City  
The Clocktower

"Green Lanterns… I cannot contact Hal. The last report sent in by the USS Titan tells us they were retreating upon orders. Batman's group is in trouble, Superman is AWOL, and Gotham's civil turmoil is about to spread northeast into New York City."

"_The Ice is stable now. The Titan's have already met up on the other side of Kane bridge_. _We'll dispatch those we can into New York. Kyle and John will investigate Superman's business. I'll check on Hal." _Guy Gardner's voice was full of the determination that made up a Green Lantern, without the slightest audible of guilt that Oracle found in most of the confession ridden drunks at the local AA meetings she observed on.

"God Speed, Green Lanterns." Oracle reported through her JLA systems. "Spoiler, have you briefed the Titans upon standard protocol?"

" _Boss, Red Arrow is not nearly as cute as I thought he'd be. Still, he's the only one I'd trust to bring into this without the boss's approval." _ Spoiler's voice crackled through the speakers. Oracle observed that the hero had met up with the acting order of titans on the west end of Kane bridge, but had yet to lead them into the depths of the city. The 17 alarms ringing on her proximity screens underscored the needs for a full celebrity entourage to sweep the city didn't help her feelings.

"Orders are to sweep a path around the edge of the bay until you get to Arkham Harbor. Then we receive our next set of instructions"

"_Boss is playing it close to the chest with this one. Even for him_" Oracle sighed when she heard Stephanie voice her complaints outloud over the com. The Titans didn't need to know that the Batman didn't have everything in order. Barbara sighed then forgave Spoiler in her head. The younger woman hadn't revealed that Batman and herself were playing this symphony of destruction by ear. Then again, Oracle hadn't let the Spoiler know just how bad it actually could be.

-4 years ago-  
The Clocktower

"So your supposed to be the all-mighty broker of information ?" The youth said, sitting in her guest desk chair, awkwardly clenching the tips of the legs with his new split toe boots.

"I'm Oracle, Information Broker, yes. I'm also your teacher in techo-detective work. Among other things."

"Ok. Just one question, Batman always has me call him Batman. Dick says to call him Nightwing if his mask is on but Dick otherwise. Do I call you Barbara or Ms. Gordon or Ms. Oracle or just Oracle?" Barbara paused at the question. The kid really was good. Dick had warned her but she just figured that the boy had been lucky, and chided Dick for connecting his quadruple backflip public identity with Robin's.

Dick had been kind enough that he had neglected to remind her he wasn't actively trying to show off with his family's trademark aerialist move, it had been most unfortunate that the camera's had caught him performing the maneuver.

"Oracle. Just Oracle. Do I call you Robin, even through your not Robin, or Tim?" She twisted around to view the new sidekick. He seemed to shrink into his armored tunic, and his brow was heavy over the mask stuck to his face with spirit gum. Then he breathed in and straightened up.

"Don't suppose you could call me Mr. Drake ?"

"No. Your gonna grow up to be a Mr. Drake, and if I can help it, not a superhero. Its too dangerous"

"Yeah, well. Maybe I'll retire from the physical bit someday. I could still help people. Your system is pretty advanced, still I bet I can tweek it to work better." The kid sounded genuine in his manner when he said it.

"Your on… Timmy"

It had taken the kid 3 hours, but he had eagerly snapped open a computer technichian kit from the back of his utility belt and began to work. When he was finished, her cooling system was registering a good 20 degrees cooler. With a heavy sigh, she had extended her hand.

"Good Job, kiddo. Maybe someday you can retire from the physical business, and then just work next to me."

"I'd like that"

-The present-

Oracle crinkled the bridge of her nose behind her thick glasses. If Batman's report was accurate, Tim would be retiring much sooner than he had hoped. Still, he'd be able to walk. Barbara Gordon, of all people, knew how valuable that could be.

"_Any news on.."_ Spoiler was interrupted by Oracle.

"Get to work. I'll keep you informed."


	21. Chapter 21

Frelan  
Star Trek Universe

"So I'm 10 years behind on information" Hal Jordan stated almost serenely. Data's XO Commander Choudhurry wondered how the man could behave so calmly at the situation. He'd awoken in a strange location in a strange universe that was 400 years after his own world. No longer with security, she still was concerned about the effects his ring had. It operated at a technology that was, well, indistinguishable from magic.

"The Farpoint Net, as historians call it, was established by a being known as Q, who possessed apparent omniscience, among other 'god-like' abilities. He was using the net to delay us on our journey, in order to free the creature that had been captured and manipulated into masquerading as the Farpoint Station." If anything, becoming ambassador to the Vulcan people had given the former Commodore of Starfleet an even more reverent tone. Jean-Luc Picard knew he was only speaking to the man dressed in the green and white uniform in front of him. Still, he could feel the eyes of everyone in the briefing quarters rest upon him. "Q has, in the past, transported heroes from another universe into our own. A group known as The X-men"

"I'm aware of the X-men. They operate as rogues, vigilantes in their own world, hated and persecuted for physical mutations. They're heroes; they operate on the side of angels, you might say." Green Lantern interrupted the ambassador briefly. He didn't like to dwell into the memories that existed from his time as Parallax, yet it was Parallax that had travelled the Barrier known as The Bleed. "How did they return. I can make my way home from their universe"

"They made their way here from their universe. They were drawn thru by Timehooks developed by Kang the Conqueror. Q brought them here by charging Starbase 88 with veratron particles. A member of the X-men, Kurt Wagner, naturally generated veratron particles as a byproduct of his teleportation. When the X-men attempted to use their Timehook to return to their own time, they were drawn into our universe." Data's explanation was left lingering, and he looked to his left at the seat were Geordi was seated.

"Again." the master engineer finished. "Historically speaking, our universe has had much more contact with their timeline than yours, Lantern. The X-men encountered the original enterprise of the federation. Then, we were drawn into their timeline trying to return through a temporal vortex to our own present." Hal leaned back into his seat and looked contemplative for a second.

"When the Enterprise travelled after the Borg to the 21st century. You assured the continued first contact between the human civilization and Vulcans." Hal stated. Ambassador Picard was impressed with the man's recall of knowledge he had reviewed only in passing, unless the hero's ring was still on a low-level standby. "Captain I've been told that you are the one to ask whether or not I can access your stellar cartography in order to locate OA in this timeline universe."

"Considering the Enterprise's duties are primarily ceremonial, it stands to reason that your request can be accommodated." Data finished. He stood up from the head of the table. "Ambassador, we will be required to meet the envoy of the Romulan Senate at 1800 hours. Meeting dismissed." With this the yellow eyed android left the ready room and returned to the bridge. Hal looked around the room for a second and realized how much humanity Riker and Troi must have braught to this crew when they had been younger.

"Commander Choudhurry, would you be so kind as to assist me in the presentation I need to make regaurding the resettlement of the Romulans?" The woman nodded at her former captain and rose to assist the elderly bald man from his seat. As they neared the exit, Worf stood up quickly.

"I must speak with the Chancellor. I have his ear in this matter, and as long as you are a guest of the Enterprise, you are well. Still, the empire will not tolerate unauthorized access." The Klingon grumbled. His beard had tips of white at the ends where it came to sharp spikes.

"Unfortunately the ships new Medical Hologram Program doesn't like me being in Sickbay. I designed Sickbay and he won't let me down there" Doctor Crusher-Picard sighed and brushed a stray bang behind her ear.

"You helped design sickbay. I helped design a lot of this ship too. You're the one who had stars in her eyes when she suggested a profile based off of the legendary Dr. McCoy" Geordi La Forge countered.

"Hm. Yes. Captain of Engineering, Worf wouldn't let any of our other chief engineers forget it either. Through B'lanna certainly stood up to him during her stay." Beverly recanted wistfully. "To think we had almost a decade of tranquil peace. No Borg. No war. No galaxy destroying black holes"

"Yes it was most boring. Green Lantern, would you be interested in joining us at the Froggy Bottoms Riding Club for lunch. I've already scheduled an appointment for us afterwards in Stellar Cartography."

"If I'm allowed to join in the conversation." Green Lantern replied with mirth. He stood and fallowed the other two out of the room. The ready room stayed empty, visions of Federation and Vulcan ships buzzing around the Enterprise shown through the massive bay windows.

USS Voyager  
Bridge  
Frelan system orbit.

"Captain Paris." The man who turned to look at his former commander, both in the Maquis and during the exiled return of his current vessel, had aged considerably.

"Commodore Chakotay." Tom smiled as he turned in his seat towards the captain who had replaced Afsarah Eden when the latter had been promoted into the ranks of junior admiralty. In the years since that had happened Voyager had been the quiet flagship of Chakotay's fleet. Many of her younger officers aboard had resented how Chakotay intentionally went out of his way to make sure the Voyager wasn't threatened during any course of action.

"Tom, I kept the ship together after Kathryn moved up. After I took over as XO for Admiral Eden, I've done my best to make sure you have too"

"I've transferred away more prime talent because we're stuck doing backwater policing action of what was once the great Cardassian empire. I've never once wished they could stay, if only we faced mortal danger in a strange quadrent two or three times a month."

"Kids don't know. However, it is interesting that you bring up strange quadrents at this time." Chakotay's sigh after his sentences made Tom Paris sip his cup of raktajino a little more lightly than normal.

"Does this have something to do with the various particles that register from the USS Titan that were clinging to the Enterprise's visitor when we recovered him, does it?"

"Thank you" Commodore Chakotay took his steaming cup of raktajino from the ensign who had approached silently. He took an appreciative sniff before continuing. "It might. The president's council hasn't been notified about him yet. Discretion," Chakotay sipped deeply from his mug, at once glowering and smiling for the Klingon beverage's bitterness. "Is the better part of value, for the moment."

"So. You need a volunteer ship. The Enterprise is the flagship and five years younger. The fleet's still rebuilding. I lose good officers left and right, not because we get light duty. These kids only read about the Delta, and they think our stories are as grand and exaggerated as Kirk's that are taught in the 2nd year. You know what I think? I think Kirk's crew downplayed their stories. I know Janeway did."

"Are you just lecturing me because you know I'll listen to your soliloquy until you concede and accept whatever I'm offering you?" Chakotay took another sip of his coffee after he said this. It had been years since B'Elanna Paris had retired as a Star Fleet officer and instead harassed whoever thought to be Chief Engineer of Voyager until they left. Still her programming of proper Raktajino, New Praxis style, had survived the near destruction of the starship multiple times, and was truly satisfying.

"I don't get to talk to someone whom I've known for longer than a month these days, outside of B'Elana or Miral. That and usually it takes two cups of raktajino for you to be this talkative. Are you sure a ship which is best suited to policing the federations boarders is the best to use for this mission?"

"Its actually not the ship. She's so rebuilt its not even the same one I captained anymore. Its her senior crew. What's left of it." Chakotay paused pregnantly. Again the same ensign came over and refilled both of the men's cups from a classical kettle. Tom looked around before he sipped his.

"Is this a conversation we should have in private?"


	22. Chapter 22

The Cauldron  
Gotham City

Tommy Monhagen hadn't stepped foot in Gotham since his friends had been killed. He'd moved north and purchased Warrior's. He'd gotten to be a good bartender who found that heroes weren't so different from the mercenaries who he'd previously associated with. Sure it wasn't worth the extra insurance he payed on the place, it had only been demolished once under his tenure. He didn't mind paying the extra-bit though. It kept his cliental from feeling guilty about bringing a target to the place. He'd grown to love listening to those local heroes, most of whom he probably shouldn't have served since they were probably underage.

"May I see your ID?" was a bit of a joke to someone who had stopped a bank robbery or a rape before deciding to stop off at Warrior's for a meal or a drink. Tommy figured that these days cheeseburgers brought in as much revenue as the fancy imports he kept stocked in case any international heroes stopped by.

It was at Warrior's where the heroes gathered after their massive battles, and their massive defeats. After the memorial service for Bart West in Central Park, the heroes came back to Warrior's. Tommy had been intrigued by Robin during that time. Here was a young hero who had lost so very much, that even Tommy couldn't comprehend the sheer amount of it. It was if the boy were in a storyline where every single editor had decided to write down on him. It was as if Tim Drake was Animal Man and God was Grant Morrison.

Tommy had swallowed his bourbon with a smirk when that thought occurred to him. He knew that Robin had the best mental defense training that could be undertaken by someone that wasn't psychic to begin with. Just the sheer weight of determination holding back the depression had intrigued Tommy Monhagen to catalogue the event in his mind.

So when he'd been making himself unseen during the argument between Green Arrow and Green Lantern Guy Gardner, he'd listened to the alarms in Titan's Tower. When he found that it was Robin in trouble in Gotham, and enough trouble the Bat would call in outside help, he'd simply positioned himself at the end of the line. He was sure that someone would have noticed as they all boarded the sleek transport that took them over the edge of the suburbs. As they landed and disembarked on the shoulder of the highway that crossed Kane Bridge, he was surprised when no one said anything. Too occupied with his return to Gotham to bother reading his companions minds, he was shocked when Spoiler didn't say anything either.

Strange Times make for strange bedfellows, he decided.

"Boss is playing it close to the chest with this one. Even for him" Tommy overheard the slim blonde girl say. The sleeze in him enjoyed her curves underneath her armor-woven cowl. It was still good to have X-ray vision. He avoided looking directly at her, not wanting to trigger anymore alarms in the system than were already going off. 17, he decided, not quite knowing who the thought had come from.

Spoiler fired a zip-line and flew towards the cornerstone building that was on the edge of the block. She stopped there and motioned for the Titans to fan out on each side of the street. Falling instep behind Red Arrow, Tommy looked across the street to see Cyborg change his hands into glowing blue stun batons.

Tommy's holsters had hung empty for months. He hadn't taken them off the hanger with his kevlar lined leather coat since he'd accomplished his last mission for Cadmus. Now, back home again, Tommy longed for their familiar weight against his ribs.

He saw what Spoiler had directed them to the side of the street for before the others did. Two of the cities multiple gangs had looted through the businesses on each side of the street, firing freely through walls with Sonic Disrupters. A swirl of madness drifted off of the numerous youths. Tommy swallowed his bitter throat and kept focusing, until he found a shared memory out the mess that was.

"They're supposed to kill each other. They're working for the same guy and they're supposed to kill each other." Tommy managed to spit out the words before he realized that doing so gave their position away to those across the street. "Down!"

There was no noise. That's what really bothered the bartender. There was no noise, not the white noise of an explosion, or the roaring hiss of fire. Nothing. The explosion took Tommy off his feet and slammed him hard against the sidewalk around the corner. Red Arrow fell back with his arm covered in flaming shrapnel. The hero gritted his teeth and brushed the thick leather armor off with his gauntlet. Roy took careful aim with his yellow bow and released a sonic arrow into the open window. The Arrow spun through with a screaming spiral and then nothing happened. Several barrels stuck out the window where the arrow had just flown in. There was a repeated clicking sound.

"EMP arrow. Howling is just a distraction" Arrow walked over to Tommy, who was shifting uncomfortably against the concrete. "You alright?"

"Just… broke my ribs." Tommy managed to say between gasps.

"Ouch. You're not even armed, you should hang back for this one" Roy Harper didn't have disdain to his voice, or pity. His voice was filled with genuine concern. This time it was Tommy's turn to brush off the leather covering his arms.

"Healing Factor, X-ray Vision, and Telepathy."

"I've read your file. We all did as soon as we realized that we had to bring you back to the tower. …Healing Factor?" Roy turned his head back around as slipped another arrow out of his quiver and lined its notch to his bowstring.

"My ribs are healing as we speak. Something the Government threw in whenever I was resurrected." Tommy took a quick dash to the corner of the building that Spoiler had been hanging from until she'd advanced two rooftops down. He winced as the tracer-effects of sonic disrupters tore into the street next to his cover. The ache for his guns grew into a full blown inflammation of pain. Well that and his ribs had just healed from being broken. Monhagen sighed, sensed that Red Arrow was about to fire and took the opertunity to dash across the street.

When he landed in the inset doorway of the shopfront he was dismayed to see the Cyborg had been taken down, his chest-plate missing and circuitry and blood spilling out from his abdomen. His telepathy told him that the hero was unconscious but not dead. A quick glance under his heavy sunglasses told Tommy that Cyborg hadn't suffered any life threatening injuries or issues that he could identify.

The sound of physical explosions continued down the street. Tommy looked out of the doorway to see that the Sonic Disrupters were busily tearing off storefronts. The facades had been hand built by first generation Irish immigrants that had flooded Gotham after the First World War. They had survived the riots of the 60s, the earthquakes that had quarantined Gotham, the hell that had been the year of A No Man's Land inside the city's boundaries. Now they were floating away in the wind like burning ashes floating off a trash-fire.

Tommy felt the pain of the gangbangers from outside their structure. Many had broken bones, others were bleeding internally. All of them, dead and alive, were partially buried in rubble. A teddy-bear sheered open on a rusty pipe protruding from the wall haunted the visions of several of them. Tommy gritted his teeth. Gotham's Cauldron was home to the Irish-American Mob, but it also housed several families who still worked the factories on the waterfront. These families, thankfully, hadn't been home when the trouble in Gotham had started.

Tommy spotted a weak-point in the wall and lowered his shoulder. He crashed through the wall coated in a thin layer of crumbled rotten spackle. He took a look around and quickly stripped the gangbangers of conventional weaponry. Even through his special forces training allowed him to identify the Sonic Disrupters as potential powerhouse weapons, he didn't want to chance a Hero taking him out just for holding one of the damn things.

Finding only one holster, and belt mounted too, Tommy quickly emptied all the clips from the guns and stashed those in his jacket. Then he emptied all the pistols' chambers and sloppily shoved them into his waist band.

As he opened up the door, he saw Starfire land roughly in front of him. Unlike Cyborg, there was no damage from a sonic disrupter evident on the Tammarian princess. Instead a clean bullethole was leaking neon colored blood onto the pavement from her collarbone and ribcage. Tommy used his X-ray vision to see if she needed emergency triage, but was unsure of whether or not she actually was seriously hurt. For someone who looked human save for her pigmentation, she wasn't built like a standard girl.

"Roy, you might want to get your people clear!" Tommy called out as he dashed across the street, spraying a layer of cover from his pilfered AR-15 in front of him. He kicked open the door in front of him and sprayed burst into the first row of thugs that were aiming disrupters out the window. He tossed the empty assault rifle hard into the next punk, and calmly withdrew a nickel plated Desert Eagle from the back of his pants. "Somebody ripped off a high-roller" Tommy said as he found the right clip in his pocket. He jumped to the side as the remaining gang-members turned and fired towards him. Monhagen landed on his hip, slid the clip home and chambered a round before he stopped sliding. Calmly he shot rounds into each of the criminals heads.

Tommy calmly dropped the clip from the Desert Eagle and pulled the chamber open, letting the last round fall to the floor. He couldn't hear the tell-tale destruction of the Disrupters anymore, so he peaked his head up to the window.

Down the street Raven was weaving dark spells that were striking out to the block ahead of the Titans. Across the street Tommy could see Spoiler and Red Arrow fighting back to back. Without stressing, Tommy could see that the two heroes were out of fancy gadgetry and down to their melee weapons. Tommy paused for a second and watched appreciatively as the pair fought seamlessly, as if they'd trained together for years. As they subdued the rest of their opponents, Tommy loaded a fresh pair of pistols and swept down the street with his X-ray vision.

"The Rule is NO POWERS" the yell, almost a primal scream, came from down the street, on a rooftop. It was punctuated by the crack of a high powered sniper rifle. Tommy peeked his head out from the doorway and saw a glint of red reflected in the streetlights that were still active. He scanned down and realized the unnatural darkness that surrounded the sorceress Raven had faded. A further glimpse revealed that she had fallen and a pool of blood was forming underneath her. The rifle sounded out three more times in quick succession. Tommy observed three members of a gang he didn't recognize fall down dead.

Tommy scanned the rest of the block to the best of his ability and was unable to identify anymore criminals in the buildings. The entire block had been destroyed by the battle, broken glass glittering in the street. The former hitman watched as the two heroes in the building across the street finished restraining the unconscious thugs with zip-ties.

Red Arrow pushed open the door and Spoiler stepped out. Pavement exploded next to Spoiler's boot with her first step.

"You know the rules little girl. No super powered heroes allowed in past the suburbs. Get your trash and leave" This time Tommy saw the speaker as he lowered the 50 caliber sniper rifle.

"JASON! NO" Spoiler yelled out as she saw Raven lying prone on the street. The purple clad hero rushed towards the Titan and picked her up. The brunette's body lay limply in the blonde girl's arms.


End file.
